Pakistan well endowed to play role for peace: Gilani

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani said Pakistan is well endowed to play a constructive role in promoting regional and global peace, security and development.

Addressing delegates of Pakistan Development Forum (PDF) here at Prime Minister House on Sunday night, Gilani said, “The challenge of development cannot be realized through aid alone and to realize this potential, we seek mutually beneficial partnerships.”

He said, “We seek growth which is holistic, sustained and all- encompassing.”

“Trade and market access are the centre piece of our vision for a peaceful, prosperous and progressive Pakistan. This explains why I have been advocating the theme of trade not aid during my interactions with the world leaders, business community and friends abroad,” he added.

Gilani said Pakistan Development Forum (PDF) offers a useful platform for in depth deliberations between Pakistan and its development partners on the entire spectrum of issues concerning the national development paradigm.

“The PDF is an opportunity to remind ourselves that there is a lot more to be done than fire-fighting. We cannot forget the bigger picture; while we are busy taking care of the immediate needs to the country,” he added.

He reminded that this year’s PDF gathering assumed greater significance in light of the economic fall-out of the recent floods.

He appreciated the gesture of the participating countries to share their knowledge and skills with Pakistanis.

He expressed the hope that deliberations at the Pakistan Development Forum would be productive and the forum would evolve strategies to help Pakistan fight off economic challenges in the backdrop of recent floods.

Gilani took note of the PDF deliberations on Sunday on damages and needs and as also on poverty alleviation and the provincial development agenda.

He said for Pakistan, its people and democratic government, development remained an overwhelming strategic priority.

“Our government’s economic philosophy is to put the country on a trajectory of sustainable growth by ensuring macroeconomic stability, domestic resource mobilization, restructuring of the public sector Enterprises and unleashing the productive potential of the private sector.”

The Prime Minister said that revival of the Pakistan economy was dependent on improvement in internal and external security caused by terrorism and the resolution of the energy crisis in the short term.

“It will require substantive investment in these areas as well as in development of trade corridors, improving agricultural outputs and social sectors,” he added.

The PM pointed out that some of Pakistan’s development challenges were structural and this government had made good progress in addressing structural problems like the issue of provincial autonomy.

“Other challenges faced by Pakistan are process-oriented. Our education system has been steadily bypassed by the private sector, and we have not invested as heavily as we need to,” he mentioned.

He said, “We must fix both processes and structures to build Pakistani institutions that our children can benefit from. Perhaps most importantly, as we improve the overall governance, we need to ensure that private enterprise has a chance to shine.”

The Prime Minister said in seeking and building partnerships of mutual benefit, Pakistan will always uphold its national dignity.

“As the democratic government of a sovereign Pakistan, accountable to its people, we have and will continue to subscribe to the principles of equity, equality and justice,” he added.

He underlined the need for job creation by entrepreneurs so that Pakistan could take advantage of its enormous demographic advantages.

Gilani said globalization is not simply a phenomenon of extensive communication and economic linkages but it is a process of human ties and concern.

Taking note of the help extended by the international community in natural calamities, he said, “The spirit of concern and solidarity exhibited by the entire international community during various international catastrophes as well as the recent floods in Pakistan reassured my belief that human feelings and shared values exist within the global family.”

In this global village, he said, nations cannot prosper in isolation and need to share and support one another for equitable socio-economic development.

“We have our collective stake in future and it must be our earnest effort to ensure a peaceful and prosperous life for our succeeding generations,” he added. – Agencies