"Pakistan has steadfastly pursued liberalisation and de-regulation of economy, as well as the privatisation process and there is no upper limit of foreign equity and no restriction on repatriation of capital, profits and dividends," President Zardari told a delegation of Kuwait Chambers of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), led by its Chairman Ali Mohammad Thunyan Al-Ghanim, at the Bayan Palace.
President Zardari, who is on a 2-day official visit of Kuwait, said Pakistan offers legal protection to investments along with an attractive package of tax incentives. He also referred to the signing of a bilateral Pak-Kuwait agreement on encouragement and reciprocal protection of investment during the visit of Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani in February and said after this agreement any possible concerns that a prospective Kuwaiti investor might have nurtured about the safety of investment in Pakistan, should have been put to rest.
President Zardari told Kuwaiti entrepreneurs that a number of areas, including energy sector, downstream oil industry, port development, mining and minerals, corporate agriculture, livestock and dairy development, construction, textiles, banking and financial sectors offer lucrative opportunities and were open for investment in Pakistan.
He said owing to the economic reform measures and the liberal investment regime, the World Bank's ranking for Pakistan as business-friendly country have significantly improved.
He said Pakistan located at the crossroads of Central, South-West and East Asia, the country's proximity to China further accentuates its geo-economic profile. Additionally, given its own market size of 180 million people, availability of trained human and rich natural resources coupled with business-friendly policies, Pakistan offers tremendous trade and investment opportunities, he added.
President was of the view that with Pakistan and Kuwait already having a bilateral trade agreement as well as a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation between the chambers of two countries to boost their trade ties, there still remained an untapped potential to give a quantum jump in the volume of trade between the two countries. He said Pakistan-Kuwait's trade volume in fiscal year 2009-10 stood at $ 2.2 billion, with Pakistan's exports at merely $ 87 million against $ 2.1 billion of imports primarily of high speed diesel from Kuwait.
President Zardari said Pakistan is universally acknowledged for its basmati rice, textiles and clothing, sports goods, surgical instruments, carpets, marble, tents and many other products. The increased buying of these products from Pakistan by the Kuwaiti importers can help address to some extent, the present imbalance in bilateral trade, he added. Advisor to Prime Minister on Petroleum and Natural Resources Dr Asim Hussain, Secretary General M Salman Faruqui, spokesperson to the President Farhatullah Babar and Pakistan's Ambassador to Kuwait Iftikhar Aziz were also present in the meeting.