News
Saturday, September 04, 2010
Pakistan needs trade, not aid to cope with flood losses
* Zardari says providing access of goods to EU, US markets best way to help cope with flood devastation
* Govt can’t undertake rehabilitation, reconstruction task on its own
KARACHI/ISLAMABAD: Pakistan needs foreign trade, not international aid to tackle with the losses and damage caused by the massive floods, President Asif Ali Zardari said on Friday.
The president made these remarks while meeting businessmen and industrialists at the Bilawal House, Karachi. Zardari said that “trade, not aid” was the slogan of the federal government, which was seeking market access for the country’s exports. “We will press forward with this slogan and take our case to the world,” he said.
The president said that the magnitude of the worst natural calamity in the country’s history was beyond the capacity of the federal government and it could not undertake the task of rehabilitation and reconstruction on its own.
“The world needs to do more,” he said, adding the best way to help Pakistan in this hour of distress was to lift the ban on its goods from entering the markets of the US and EU.
Zardari called upon the business community of Karachi to generously contribute to the flood relief measures particularly in the rehabilitation and reconstruction of the damaged infrastructure. The president told the business community that the federal government planned to build new settlements, towns and villages as soon as the floodwaters receded.
Separately, the president met TV anchors and editors of leading newspapers at the Bilawal House. Zardari said that all the details regarding the inflow of foreign aid for the flood victims, its utilisation and distribution should be placed on a website to ensure greater transparency.
“In my opinion all the information should be open to you on a website so that you can see it. My daughter Bakhtawar Bhutto Zardari had raised Rs 130 million and the detail of this amount and its utilisation is on the website,” he added.
The president said that the federal government should utilise modern technology to bring in total transparency in the use of foreign aid. Zardari lauded the role of the armed forces in the relief efforts and termed it a collective effort of the government and the military.
Also on Friday, Senate Deputy Chairman Jan Muhammad Jamali called on the president and briefed him about the relief efforts of the Balochistan government. app
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk