FDI-linked policies to be continued: Dar
WASHINGTON (April 13 2008): Holding out the new government's commitment to foreign direct investment related policies, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar has invited American entrepreneurs to avail investment opportunities Pakistan offers in various sectors.

He was addressing the members of the US-Pakistan Business Council here at the US Chamber of Commerce and Industries on Friday afternoon. "The newly elected government in Pakistan will continue the FDI linked policies, which we had introduced and which the previous government continued. Obviously, there will be continuity in these policies," he said.

At the same time, Dar added, the government would also strive to improve monetary and fiscal policies. He informed the entrepreneurs about the new coalition government's priorities and said it had given market economy to the country (in the 1990s), introduced foreign direct investment policies as well as various other economic reforms.

"The business leaders said they valued these reforms very much and said a delegation (of US entrepreneurs) will visit Pakistan in the near future," Dar later said. The finance minister was optimistic about increased inflow of US investment into various economic sectors as the business leaders had showed a keen interest during the interaction.

The members of Pakistani delegation, who are here for World Bank-IMF annual spring meetings, include Governor State Bank Dr Shamshad Akhtar and Secretary Finance Dr Waqar Masood Khan. Pakistan's Deputy Ambassador in Washington Muhammad Aslam Khan also attended the meeting.

The Pakistani delegates also took part in the G-24 Deputies Meeting at the World Bank where they presented Pakistan's views on rising food prices. On the sidelines of the global gathering of finance leaders, Ishaq Dar also held meetings with his counterparts from other countries.

Earlier, the finance minister had a meeting with chairman US-Pakistan Business Council, Jay Collins, who said he had been "extremely impressed with the candor and vision" of the new top Pakistani finance official. Collins said the US business community is "optimistic about Pakistan's future, about continuing to invest and commit long-term to Pakistan."

"I was both pleased and reassured that the fundamental premises of the new minister in terms of kinds of policies that will allow Pakistan's economy to grow, allow the global investment community continue to have faith in Pakistan, will be implemented by this government so I am very supportive of what I heard."

Dar says he had useful meetings with senior US officials. "We discussed how the new government views the economic situation in Pakistan and the future roadmap to correct macro-economic balances.T he meeting was very useful and friendly and in the broader sense we discussed bilateral issues mainly linked with the economic side," finance minister Ishaq Dar said Friday evening after meeting with Under Secretary of State Reuben Jaffery.

Earlier, Dar had meetings with Deputy Secretary Treasury Robert Kimmit and Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Sullivan. "These are routine meetings, since we are in the town, obviously when you meet, you discuss economic ties," Dar added.

Jaffery, who is Under Secretary of Economic, Energy and Agriculture Affairs Jaffery echoed Dar's views, calling their discussion as "very constructive". "We had a very constructive meeting, we discussed a broad array of financial and market issues and the challenges the Minister and his countrymen face and the US support for the government in helping to address those challenges in the months to come," the US official said.

Meanwhile, responding to questions from the media representatives at the end of his hectic schedule of engagements on Friday, Dar said the new government has already started making efforts to damage control the economic situation in relation to various macroeconomic indicators, particularly rising inflation that the present government has inherited. He was confident of achieving improvement in the current fiscal year as, according to him the numbers have been shared with the media and the public.

"If we do not take the corrective actions, it would be unbearable, the fiscal deficit of 9 and 9.5 per cent roughly, so we will have to bring it down below 7 per cent."

In answer to another question the finance minister said the new government has shared with the public the situation of the economy it has inherited. "There is no blame game, I gave numbers of what I have inherited on the budget overrun, they are substantiated - in fact, we are going to just place it in both the Houses of the Parliament - they will be referred to the Finance Committees, which will provide an equal opportunity to the previous regime team to come and defend."

He said the previous government "should have allowed to make necessary fiscal and monetary adjustments where those were necessary" in light of circumstances prevailing both domestically and globally. "But due to political expediency in the election year, they did not do it."

http://www.brecorder.com/index.php?id=7224...m=&supDate=

HAHAHAHAHA

So for all other aspects SA was a dumA$$ who created figures and presented rosy economy but noow all the sudden they want to continue his FDI policies.

Well where else u gonna find such hypocracy.

Where is SA now he went to london then usa is he still there? If SA has done corruption/fraud etc as dar says why doesn't ppp get him extradited to pakistan.

So true....

Hes gone to the USA so now he has stopped his blame game. When he is back in Pakistan it will start again. Typical politician.


http://www.dawn.com/2008/04/13/top10.htm

WASHINGTON, April 12: The new government does not want to indulge in a “blame game” with the previous rulers, says Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, adding that he plans to continue some economic policies of the outgoing government as well.

Talking to Pakistani journalists outside the US State Department, where he met senior US officials, Mr Dar said he does not want to repeat “on American soil” what he said about the previous government in Pakistan.

Before leaving for Washington, the finance minister told the media that the previous government had fudged figures to present a rosy picture while its policies pushed the country into an economic crisis. He also said that today the economy was in a far worse shape than it was in 1999.

But after his meeting with US entrepreneurs and senior officials, he told reporters: “The new government will continue the FDI-linked policies of the previous government.”

Mr Dar claimed that the Sharif government had introduced these policies before it was ousted in 1999 and therefore “there will be continuity in these policies … there will also be a consistency in policies of deregulation and privatisation.”

When reminded that before leaving Islamabad, he had accused the previous government of messing up the economy, the finance minister said: “It is not a blame game.” Asked to compare the economy as it exists now with what it was in 1999, Mr Dar said: “We are not doing comparisons.”

The previous government, he said, should have made fiscal and monetary adjustments where those were necessary to meet both domestically and globally pressure “but due to political expediency in the election year, they did not.”