Pakistan, being the fifth largest country in the world, did not need any charity but trade with int’l community: President Alvi
ISLAMABAD, Sep 14 (SABAH): President Dr. Arif Alvi on Thursday, calling the international responsibility for peace a foundation for trade, urged the world to ensure equitable development to address the issue of brain drain from developing countries.
President Dr. Arif Alvi, addressing the Annual LCCI Ambassadors’ Dinner 2023, exemplified Europe saying that by enhancing mutual trade, the world had moved towards peace but it required increased efforts to create an enabling atmosphere all around.
He said Pakistan, being the fifth largest country in the world, did not need any charity but the trade with the international community.
He said Pakistan desired the developed world to share its expertise in information technology with it as pursuing the ideals of “one humanity”, they should spend their resources for the betterment of the people outside their borders too.
President Dr. Arif Alvi said the brain drain made the nations lose competent individuals despite having spent huge resources on their education. The provision of equitable development would help such individuals to contribute to their own countries.
Recounting Europe’s journey to get rid of war, the president said women and children had always been the major casualties of conflicts, and the establishment of peace required the elimination of exploitation.
Highlighting the double standards, the president said the signing of peace conventions and their violations could not go on simultaneously.
He said the world must focus on enhancing cooperation for the betterment of the next generations as all the world religions preached human service.
President Dr. Arif Alvi said that as artificial intelligence was impacting human decision-making, it required timely efforts to tackle the challenge before it got out of control.
He urged the diplomats to persuade their respective business communities to take advantage of Pakistan’s renewed commitment to attract investment with a particular focus on a few sectors through a one-window facility.
Calling for attention to human development, the president advised the business community to enhance employment opportunities for women and persons with disabilities.
He said the information technology had eased bank account opening and financial transactions for women, it was the business community’s responsibility to create a conducive atmosphere for their physical movement.
Similarly, he also asked the corporate sector to focus on the welfare of their workers as well as environmental protection to leave behind a better world for future generations.
He said Pakistan, being rich with youth bulge, could do wonders by investing in education and health sectors as the country’s tremendous success during the COVID-19 pandemic manifested its commitment to achieve the goals.
Earlier, President of the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry Kashif Anwar said the LCCI had been striving to strengthen trade relations with the world and lauded the diplomatic community’s continuous cooperation.
He said Pakistan was emerging as a safe place for investment and through the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) platform, the country had decided to mainly focus on agriculture, information technology, mining, and defence sectors.
The LCCI president urged the diplomats to spread the message to their respective business communities to invest in Pakistan and extend their support in building partnerships.
He told the gathering that Pakistan’s private sector was also extending its every possible support to provincial and federal governments to create ease of doing business and remove hurdles in investment.