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The
ceremony began by a welcome address by Sheikh Abdullah bin Ahmed
Al-Thani, member of QBA, who briefed the audience about the goals and
activities of the association. Sheikh Abdullah also hoped that General
Musharraf’s visit will pave the way for the setting up of sustainable
joint ventures between Qatar and Pakistan.
In his key-note speech, HE
President General Musharraf invited Qatari business community to
invest in his country, which was among the top four developing
economies in Asia as it achieved an 8% growth rate and an
increase of 90% in export in the last five years.
General Musharraf told the Qatari
Businessmen that his country lay in a geographically strategic
location that enabled it to play a major role in any project. He
mentioned that Pakistan offers profitability and political
stability that are the two key factors attracting investments.
Highlighting the incentives for
investors, the Pakistani President said his country has cheap,
but qualified, labor compared with other countries.
General Musharraf said that
Pakistan has been witnessing a boom in sectors such as
agriculture, IT, telecommunication and banking. He added that
five years ago, there were about 600,000 mobile phones in
Pakistan, however today, the figure has gone up to 10.5
million.
He concluded that his government
plans to enhance co-operation between the private sectors of the
two countries. “The gates of Pakistan are widely open for
private investors in all sectors,” he said.
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