ISLAMABAD-The Federal Tax Ombudsman (FTO) Coordinator Meher Kashif Younis on Sunday said that Pakistan’s economic landscape has undergone a remarkable transformation, largely attributed to the establishment of the SIFC (Special Investment Facilitation Council) that has successfully taken significant strides in attracting foreign direct investment.
Addressing as keynote speaker at a seminar on “The impact of SIFC on Pakistan Economy” held under the aegis of Gold Ring Economic Forum, a strategic think tank, he said this initiative holds immense significance, particularly in the realm of FDI as SIFC effectively engages with various countries and fully committed to ensuring investment flows into the country. He said its manifesto includes foreign investment with a long-term goal of touching $60 billion in five years and eventually achieving the target of $100 billion. He said, “What we need is consistency in economic, fiscal, trade policies and close collaboration with local and foreign stakeholders for attracting investments.”
He said it’s a good omen that Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, and Qatar have signed multi-billion-dollar MOUs for FDI depicting tremendous response to SIFC which is likely to increase substantially from January next. He said these MOUs encompass investment cooperation across diverse sectors such as energy, port operations, wastewater treatment, food security, logistics, mining and aviation sectors. Meher said the International Finance Corporation (IFC) in collaboration with the Board of Investment (BOI) has also introduced an ambitious investment plan to inject more than $1.5 billion into Pakistan’s economy through both short and long-term planning. He said the economic partnership between China and Pakistan has also been reinforced by inking 20 agreements and MoUs under BRI cooperation. He hinted that countries like France, Germany and Korea have expressed their interest in entering administrative control of agreements related to power distribution companies of Pakistan. He said strategically located Pakistan possesses tremendous potential laced with plenty of natural resources and studded with minerals in abundance and what’s badly needed is political stability, long-lasting good governance, foolproof transparency, and streamlining cumbersome procedures for strengthening the national economy.