MADRID (APP) - Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani on Wednesday urged the Spanish business community to invest in Pakistans numerous sectors that offered lucrative returns and secure investment.He was addressing a reception hosted in his honour by the Confederation of Employers and Industries of Spain (CEOE) here at a local hotel.The CEOE, founded in 1977, is the top Spanish Businessmen Organization, with a voluntary membership of one million public and private companies, representing all productivity sectors of the country like agriculture, industry and services. It accounts for 184 regional and sectoral organisations. Gilani said the Spanish entrepreneurs can focus on energy, industry, agriculture and technology sectors in Pakistan and can get good returns by establishing joint ventures. He said there was a need to explore avenues and facilitate investment through public-private partnership between the two countries. He said increased interaction amongst the business communities of the two countries would be greatly beneficial for both Pakistan and Spain. Gilani wooed the Spanish business community to choose Pakistan as a land of opportunities for trade and investment, offering a large market, rich in natural resources, human and business skills. Spain which is relocating its textile and leather products industry can find a new home in Pakistan through joint collaborations. He said Pakistan believed that development through trade was the surest and shortest way forward. He said in Pakistan the parliament was sovereign, with an independent judiciary, a free media and a vibrant civil society. Pakistan espouses the ideals of democracy, reconciliation and peaceful co existence among people, cultures and communities, he added. Today Pakistan is a bulwark against the forces of terrorism and extremism. As never before, our people, our political forces and State institutions are united in their resolve to uproot this menace, the premier said. Gilani said Pakistans request for market access was grounded in the strong belief that development through trade was the surest and shortest way for societal transformations, to spread dividends fo prosperity and to win the war of hearts and minds. He said investment and employment generation in Pakistan was not only strategic imperative, but also makes economic sense as the economic fundamentals of the country were strong. He said at 170 million, Pakistan presents a large market with a sizable work force and equipped with right skills and tools. The prime minister pointed that Pakistans position at the confluence of worlds fastest growing regions and the growing network of trans-regional corridors makes it an ideal destination for strategic investments in telecommunications, transport, tourism, infrastructure and energy. He said the country also boasts the largest irrigation network in the world, with a strong agrarian base and potential for agro-based sector. Gilani said Pakistans mineral wealth was largely untapped with coal in Sindh, copper and gold in Balochistan, marble and gems in Gilgit-Baltistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, offering profitable returns to prospective investors. The prime minister said Pakistans economy was on track to recovery owing to the far reaching structural reforms. He termed the private sector as the engine of economic recovery and said it has been given a lead role. He said the country today ranks high in terms of investor friendliness and national treatment was offered to foreign investors with hundred percent ownership and liberty to repatriate capital and profits. He mentioned provision of fiscal and financial incentives by creation of Special Economic Zones and sector specific packages, besides mechanism for alternate dispute resolution and legislative cover to local and foreign investors. He said Pakistan ranked highest among SAARC in the Ease of doing business 2010 report published yearly by the World Bank and for this reason over 700 multinationals have invested in Pakistan. Gilani said there was immense scope for expansion in trade between Pakistan and Spain and said his country was deeply interested in bilateral collaboration and joint ventures in olive cultivation, fisheries, wind and solar energy, green house technology and water management. He said Pakistan of today and tomorrow was a country of great promise and prospect and was open and forward looking, transparent and friendly that was ready for business. He mentioned that the two countries have a stable trade relation but the volume of bilateral trade was only around US $600 million during 2008-2009, with a surplus of US $360 million in Pakistans favour. He however pointed that Pakistani exports constitute only 0.13 per cent of total Spanish imports and the trade volume remained far below the potential. He said Spains investment during the last ten years in Pakistan stood at around US $1.47 millon and there were prospects for its increase in dairy, livestock, fisheries, renewable energy, solid waste management and green house technology. He said Repsol, the largest Spanish company in oil and gas sector was collaborating with the Sui Southern Gas Company in the LNG sector. He said textiles constitute the bulk of Pakistans exports to Spain - around 55 per cent, while it also included leather products, hand-knotted carpets, footwear and sports goods.