Tarin invites American enterprises to invest in SEZs

WASHINGTON: Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Shaukat Tarin has invited American enterprises to take advantage of ample opportunities offered by the Special Economic Zones (SEZs) in Pakistan.

He stated this while addressing a round table meeting organised by the United States Pakistan Business Council (USPBC) in Washington DC. Representatives from the US Chamber of Commerce, leading business enterprises, State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Governor Reza Baqir, Finance secretary and ambassador of Pakistan to the US participated in the meeting.   

The finance minister underlined that that the government is taking a number of initiatives to attract foreign investment into the country. For the purpose, full facilitation is being extended and all hurdles are being removed. He quoted the example of MetLife whose long standing issue had been recently resolved.

In his concluding remarks, the finance minister stated that the government is firmly committed to provide an enabling environment for the foreign investors and businessmen. 

He also invited American enterprises to take advantage of ample opportunities offered by the Special Economic Zones (SEZs) and affirmed full support and facilitation on the occasion.

Separately, Shaukat Tarin reiterated that the government is fully committed to implementing structural reforms, protecting social spending and boosting social safety nets in order to protect the vulnerable segments of the society. 

He was holding a meeting with World Bank, South Asian Region Vice President Hartwig Schafer along with his team at Embassy of Pakistan, Washington DC.

Federal Minister for Energy, Mohammad Hammad Azhar, Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Division Omar Ayub Khan along with their teams joined virtually. Also, Governor State Bank of Pakistan Reza Baqir, Ambassador Asad Majeed Khan, Secretary Finance Division and senior officials participated in the meeting.

He appreciated the pivotal role being played by the World Bank in strengthening governance and service delivery through institutional reforms in Pakistan over the years.

The World Bank acknowledged that a lot of progress has been made on implementation of structural reforms in various sectors; however, it added that there is a need to keep up the momentum to achieve the projected growth targets.