The government’s success on the diplomatic, political and economic fronts have strengthened the country’s economy resulting higher economic growth and the GDP is expected to exceed seven percent this year compared to 6.4 percent last year, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said on Wednesday.

The prime minister was addressing a ceremony of laying foundation stone of the Islamabad Stock Exchange building. He said peace talks with India, improving political and economic relations with Afghanistan and Iran and sustained economic reforms had strengthened Pakistan’s economy substantially and given a tremendous boost to the capital market, which is why the stock exchanges were breaking records.

He said the government would continue pursuing economic reforms. “We have begun implementing second generation reforms to ensure smooth business activity in Pakistan,” he said.

The prime minister said that Pakistan was now respected all over the world for its liberal policies. “We have initiated a peace process with India and cultivated friendly ties with Afghanistan,” he said. He said Afghanistan and Pakistan would increase annual bilateral trade to $1 billion.

“We also enjoy friendly political and economic relations with Iran. These factors have played a key role in boosting the capital market, which plays a catalytic role in increasing economic activity in Pakistan,” he said.

He said it was time to push forward the process of de-mutualisation of the three stock markets under the ongoing reforms. He said industrial units were also expanding and employment opportunities were increasing. He said the benefits of growth had started to trickle down, particularly to the middle class.

Mr Aziz said Pakistan had great potential in the real estate sector, but there was a shortage of contractors and skilled workers to develop real estate. He said that with huge investment in real estate, the country’s cement sector has grown tremendously and was poised to export cement to countries other than Afghanistan.

He said Pakistan needed to streamline policies on awarding contracts to quality contractors, as the existing construction modalities were obsolete. He said the country needed modern construction management. He encouraged policy makers and the business community to re-invent themselves in line with global trends to make Pakistan a land of opportunity.

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