NNI

ISLAMABAD

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Wednesday said the government’s economic team had worked diligently during the last three years to achieve the economic turn-around, which, he claimed, was being acknowledged by all the international institutions.

He was talking to Shandong Hi- Speed Group Ltd Chairman Sun Liang, who called on him here. Warmly greeting the chairman, the premier appreciated his interest in exploring investment opportunities in Pakistan. He invited Shandong Group to invest in various projects, especially related to road, rail, power, dams, pipelines, airports and the related areas. “We will provide all possible help to your investment plans,” he assured.

“The GDP rate of our economy is improving, and inflation has been brought down to single digits,” the PM said, adding, “The stock exchange has shown considerable improvement while the foreign currency reserves are highest in the history.” Nawaz further said that CPEC was a symbol of Pak – China all weather friendship, which was not only a road and rail network, but also included investments in trade, energy, transport, infrastructure and industrial sectors.

Liang greatly appreciated the economic policies of the government, and attributed Pakistan’s economic turnaround to the sound economic vision of the PM and strict financial discipline of the government. He expressed keen interest in exploring new opportunities for investment in Pakistan. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif will perform ground breaking ceremony of Havelian-Thakot Expressway today (Thursday) at Manshera, said the officials.

The 120km-Havelian-Thakot section is located in Northern part of the country. Starting from Havelian, it passes through Abbottabad, Manshera, Shinkari and terminates at Thakot in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region. The project will be completed in three sections - Havelian-Abbottabad (27.2 Km), Abbottabad-Manshera (11.8 Km) and Mansehra-Thakot (81.12 Km). This project is an important part of China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and will be completed with the financial assistance of friendly neighboring country China within a period of 42 months. This Expressway is a symbol of exemplary relationship of Pakistan and China. The project will not only connect this region with national highway network but will also create job opportunities besides industrial development.