He was speaking at the 8th Achievement Award ceremony of Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) here at Governor’s House on Friday.

President Zardari said that lack of access to international markets was a problem and the government was making strenuous efforts to achieve enhanced trade access to world markets. As a result of the government efforts, he added the European Union (EU) had given Pakistan preferential market access.

The President said that only because of the government’s well-tailored and well-thought-out policies, the country had become a profitable land to do business. “We have won access to European market that will go a long way in strengthening the country’s economy,” he added.

Governor Punjab Sardar Latif Khosa, Federal Information Minister Qamar-uz-Zaman Kaira, Federal Minister Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan, Chairman FBR Ali Arshad Hakeem, Secretary Commerce Munir Qureshi, LCCI President Irfan Qaiser Sheikh, Senior Vice President LCCI Kashif Younis Meher, Vice President Saeeda Nazar, Chairman Standing Committee and former senior vice president Sheikh Muhammad Arshad, LCCI former presidents, executive committee members and top businessmen were present on the occasion.

Talking about energy crisis, President Zardari said the government was making all-out efforts to overcome the energy shortage. He, however, said “had the energy policy of the PPP government not been reversed in the mid nineties, there would have been no power crisis today”.

President Zardari said the government was conscious of the electricity problem and was making efforts to increase power production in the country besides diversifying sources of power generation.

He said the government was taking short-term, mid-term and long-term measures to put the economy back on track.

Emphasising on the role of business community in the development of the country, he said that they should help the government in achieving its economic goals.

President Zardari further said that as part of liberal investment policy regime, the government had embarked upon a policy of trade liberalisation with India by granting it an MFN status. He stressed the need for continuity of economic policies and urged the business community to take ownership of the policies.

The President said that the continuity of incentives given to entrepreneurs would be ensured and no government would be able to withdraw the incentives without parliamentary debate and discussion.

Talking about the impact of militancy and terrorism, President Zardari said that the country had lost thousands of civilians and personnel of law enforcement agencies in its long fight against the menace. He said that the war against terrorism had had a very adverse impact on the economy and development of the country besides it was halting the progress on many social programmes.

The President asked the businessmen to share their ideas with the government, as according to him the wisdom of public and private sectors could help us achieve better results. He lauded LCCI for regularly holding award ceremonies for the last eight years and said that such awards motivate entrepreneurs to perform better. The President also congratulated all the winners of the Achievement Awards for their excellent performance.

In his address, LCCI President Irfan Qaiser Sheikh stressed the need for consistency in policies for the economic well-being of the country. He said the country had entered into a new phase of trade liberalisation with India which would potentially open an array of business opportunities for Pakistani businessmen. “We need to ensure that sectors and companies exposed to tough competition from across the border have the level playing field to do their business equally well,” he said, adding that “our country is blessed with a uniquely rich natural resource base. We have some of the finest and most precious minerals and metals in the world. We have one of the largest coal reserves estimated at 175 billion tonnes. It is believed this can generate 100,000MW electricity. But it demands that we act smartly and responsibly in exploiting our natural resource endowment for securing high long-term growth and improve standards of living in the country. It is only possible when we fully understand our challenges and can muster the will to remove hurdles impeding our journey to prosperity in a timely manner.”

Earlier, President Zardari presented awards to the winners.

Iqbal Zafaruddin Ahmad of Jamshoro Joint Venture received President of Pakistan Trophy, Mian Aamir Mahmood received Son of Lahore Award, Mian Muhammad Saeed of Prime Engineering Works, Mian Sohail Nisar of ATS Synthetic Pvt Ltd, Irfan Iqbal Sheikh of Al Fateh Departmental Store, Asif Khan of ZXCMO Pakistan Ltd, Naeem ud Din of Mian Channu Industry, Iftikhar Bashir of Shaheen Grinding Mills, Kashif Zia of Forvil Cosmetics received Gold Medal, Rifat un Nisa of Khayam Publishers and Azmat Saifi of Anis Associates received Women Achievement Award, Dr Abdul Karim of Grand Parent Poultry, Ejaz Ahmed of Four Brothers International, Khalid Pervez of Khalid Book Depot, Muhammad Shoukat Saleem of Imperial Footwear Pvt Ltd, Mian Muhammad Saeed of Madina Steel Industry, Malik Muhammad Asif of Sparko Paint Industry, Yasir Anwar of Crescent Dyeing & Textile, Muhammad Ishaq of Islam Engineering Pvt Ltd, Sanaullah Chaudhry of United Auto Industries Pvt Ltd, Muhammad Nawaz Akram of Nawaz Rice Engineering, Syed Wajid Raza Jafri of Hivet Animal Health Business, Waqas Wahab of Cleanpath Orthodontics Pvt Ltd, Javed Ahmed Bhatti of Ittefaq Trading Company, Husnain Muzafar of Muzafar Rice Corporation, Nasib Ahmed Saifi of Anis Associate Pvt Ltd received Achievement Awards.

Former LCCI presidents Mian Muhammad Ashraf, Mian Anjum Nisar, LCCI president Irfan Qaiser Sheikh, Senior Vice President Kashif Younis Meher, Vice President Saeeda Nazar and LCCI former Senior Vice President Sheikh Muhammad Arshad gave appreciation awards.