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Govt to step up efforts to attract foreign investment

ISLAMABAD: The federal government will sponsor high-level official visits next month to different countries as part of a comprehensive plan to attract maximum foreign investment, the Board of Investment sources said on Friday.

Federal Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz and Minister for Commerce and Industry Abdul Razak Dawood will lead a delegation to China in the first week of next month to convince the Chinese entrepreneurs to invest in Pakistan. The ministers will also sign joint ventures agreements with the Chinese authorities during the visit.

Abdul Razak Dawood, who held a meeting with the BoI officials on Friday, directed them to work out a strategy for the delegations who will visit foreign countries to attract foreign investment.

In his maiden meeting with the BoI officials, the minister briefed them about the government's endeavours for attracting foreign investment.

"The minister informed Board officials that the government was ready to further relax its visa policy besides offering fresh incentives to foreign investors to lure maximum investment," board officials said, adding, "the minister also sought specific recommendations from the BoI officials in this regard."

Razak expressed his satisfaction over the investment figures for December 1999 and termed it as encouraging sign of investors' confidence in the present government, officials said. "We are hopeful that the investment both local and foreign would increase in due course of time because of consistent policies," a BoI officials who attended the meeting quoted the minister as saying.

He urged Board officials to multiply their efforts and provide maximum support to the investors.

The officials briefed the minister about BoI's performance. The officials also furnished proposals and suggestions to attract investment. It was also decided that the Board officials and the minister would hold regular meeting to discuss investment related issues.

Senior BoI officials including Executive Director Huda Bakhsh Huda, Director General Tallat Rasheed Mian, Suleman Shah Mian, Ghulam Yazdani, Riazul Haq and others attended the meeting that lasted for three hours. Fortuna