Afghan peace linked to regional peace, says Dar

ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Ishaq Dar said peace in Afghanistan was directly linked with peace in its neighbouring countries, especially Pakistan.

The finance minister said this in a meeting on Sunday with his Afghan counterpart, Eklil Ahmed Hakimi, in Washington wherein he apprised him of the economic situation in Pakistan, said a press release issued by the finance ministry.

He also highlighted the steps taken by the government for enhancing the GDP growth rate and putting Pakistan on the path of sustainable economic growth.

During the course of discussion, both the finance ministers agreed that well-coordinated economic and trade policies would enable the two countries to reap fruits of economic progress and development.

Dar also condemned the terrorist attack on the Afghan military in which more than 100 soldiers lost their lives. He reiterated that Pakistan was willing to work closely with Afghanistan to establish peace in the region. The strong economic ties between the two neighbouring countries were necessary to achieve the goal of peaceful neighbourhood, he added.

Both the ministers agreed to hold meeting of the Joint Economic Commission of Pakistan and Afghanistan in near future.  Meanwhile, Dar said the government was taking all-out steps for encouraging private sector investment.

He said in CPEC, private sector has been given preference to select the projects. So far projects worth $34 billion out of $46 billion have been taken by the private sector. He further said our stock market has emerged as one of the top five stock markets in the world.