Those doing negative politics are rejected: Shahbaz

Inaugurates ISBOP Expo 2017; says opponents of development unnerved, perplexed; over 60 agreements, MoUs worth billions of dollars signed for investment in Punjab

LAHORE: Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has said the elements involved in negative politics had been rejected by the people as they gave their verdict against the opponents of development.

The chief minister added that the conspiracies of political opponents had been exposed before the nation. He was talking to the media after inaugurating the ISBOP Expo 2017 organised in connection with the investment seminar at the Expo Centre, Johar Town. He visited different stalls and took great interest in various products which were on display.

Earlier in the day, the chief minister said the speed with which the agreements signed during Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Pakistan in April 2015 had been implemented surprised the whole world, from Washington to Tokyo and from New Delhi to Moscow.

He was addressing the concluding session of the second international seminar on investment opportunities in Punjab at a local hotel. More than 60 agreements and MoUs of foreign investment worth billions of dollars in different sectors were signed on the occasion.

The chief minister said during the 70-year history of Pakistan, thousands of agreements and MoUs had been signed,but a very few materialised.  He said there was a time in the past when agreements were not implemented. “That is why, I have lost trust in MoUs and I try to enter into agreements, while avoiding the MoUs.”

The speed and transparency with which agreements were implemented during the tenure of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was incomparable. After the Chinese president’s visit to Pakistan, the agreements were executed in a unique manner and the elements, which used to allege that these agreements were only a formality, were perplexed, worried and disappointed, he added. “A new history of transparency, speed and quality has been written,” the chief minister remarked.

The agreements and MoUs signed during the previous seminar held in 2015 had also been speedily implemented, which resulted in billions of dollars of investment in Punjab, he added.

Shahbaz said the opponents of development and prosperity of Pakistan were unnerved and perplexed, and the same was depicted by their sad and disappointed faces. “These elements do not want the nation and the country to prosper; and that is why, they are fretful that a revolution of development and prosperity has been brought in by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in Pakistan,” he added.

He said over 400 investors from 26 countries participated in the seminar, which was an expression of confidence in the prime minister’s investment-friendly policies. He said the political and military leadership had provided the best possible security to the CPEC projects, adding that the Punjab government too had set up a special protection unit.

He told the investors that their security was his responsibility. “Let’s invest in Punjab because tremendous potential of investment is available in the province.” The IMF, World Bank, Moody’s and other international institutions were acknowledging the improved economy in Pakistan, he said, adding that Pakistan’s economy had been termed as the emerging economy.

Shahbaz also held separate meetings with the heads of investment groups and foreign companies attending the business seminar, as detailed discussions were held to promote investment in different sectors.

The investors from China, France, Turkey, Germany, Japan, South Korea, the UK and other countries consented for investment in different sectors. They showed strong interest in investment in energy, infrastructure, transport, healthcare, low-income housing schemes and industry.

They congratulated the chief minister for a successful seminar and said ‘Shahbaz Speed’ was talk of the town, which paved for swift economic development in Pakistan through fast-track completion of projects.

They said Shahbaz had made Punjab the leading province in Pakistan where an atmosphere conducive to investors was provided. They were ready to invest in both CPEC and non-CPEC projects, the foreign investors added.