Honorable Chief Guest Mr Siraj Kassam Teli,
Respected Guest of Honour, Mr. Ahsan M. Saleem,
Worthy Speakers of the Conference,
Trustee of COMMECS EDUCATIONAL TRUST,
Office bearers and Managing committee members of COMMECS and Karachi Chamber of Commerce & Industry,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Assalamu Alykum,
I am honored, to welcome all of you on behalf of COMMECS, the old students association of Government College of Commerce & Economics and on behalf of Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Since its inception, COMMECS has been playing an active role, for the betterment of the people of Pakistan. It established educational institutions, which have become synonyms with quality and merit.
This year, our committee thought that there is too much despair in the country, and pessimism is prevalent in the society. When we analyzed the situation, we felt that ordinary man do not have access to the information, which can give him hope.
.. And as Churchill said
“A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.”
Hence we decided, to bring in light, the other side of Pakistan, which portray the positive side of Pakistan, to enable Pakistani’s to dream about their future and for the generations to come. Hence to create optimism, this conference was conceived and organized. It would not, have been possible, if the Karachi Chamber had not joined hands with us to convey this message from the platform of this Conference. I salute the President of Karachi Chamber and his managing committee for their decision to partner with us in the conference.
In this conference we have tried to bring in light the growth , resources and opportunities in various sector of the economy. I am thankful to all the speakers, who took out time from their busy schedule, to share their, thoughts and vision with the audience, to create optimism, in business community, in particular and society at large.
Here I would like to submit that the situation portrayed by our financial wizards, does not represent our true economic potential. It is really a shame that we declare it, our success and best planning, to successfully acquire, aid packages from IMF, World Bank on time.
It is really worrying, to think that the financial success, bench mark is financial arrangements and not the economic management.
It is high time, that our focus on economic planning be shifted, towards clear cut economic goals, for developing, an industrial base in the country.
We need to come up, with policies, that ensure a culture of entrepreneurship, in the country.
Income support programs, cannot serve the objective, of economic freedom. It is actually, the facilitation of doing business and converting ideas into tangibles , that can change the economic outlook of Pakistan.
We sit , over a resource bank, of trillions of dollars while we chase, millions to survive.
This myth of the poor economy of one of the richest country in terms of resources has to end.
Our prime issues, are not RGST, capital gain tax etcetera. The biggest issue, is the under utilization of the massive resources available in this land. This issue, is directly related to poverty reduction as well as developing confidence in the people of Pakistan about their future. We need to see beyond fiscal management and look towards true economic management of our country.
This conference, has attempted to give food for thought to those, who attended this conference and particularly media which is present here in large number. I would like to ask one question Is Pakistan a poor country. No certainly no, it’s just the matter of setting the right priorities.
I urge, everyone present here to please spread the message, of the conference, to the people who are in your contact, so we can spread hope. Let the people dream, about their future and for the coming generation.
Let’s give hope to our youth, give them access to actual facts and figures, to change the perception ,about this beautiful homeland of ours.
In the end once again, I would like bring on record, my deep appreciation, for Karachi Chamber of Commerce & Industry. I am thankful to my elders at
COMMECS
Mr. Irfan Nadeem,
Mr. Arif Habib,
Mr. Arif Dossal,
Mr. A.H. Basrai,
Mr. Nasir Ali Shah Bukhari,
Mr. Peer Mohammad Diwan
Mr. Iqbal Umer
for their patronage.
I would like to record, my deep hearted gratitude, for my team at COMMECS particularly
Mr. M. Jawed Akhai,
Ms. Samina Sikandar,
Mr. Zahid Mazhar,
Mr. Mehmood Yacoob
for their whole hearted support.
I am thankful to media, which has given extensive coverage of this conference, and Inshallah they will help us is spreading the message of this conference, to create hope in the society.
I am thankful to Gatron Group, Meezan Bank, Summit Bank, EFU General Insurance, Faysal Bank , Pepsi, Pakola, Pakistan Standard and Quality Control Authority . I am thankful to Publicis our Event Managers, staff of COMMECS and Chamber for their untiring efforts to make this conference a success.
I am thankful to all of you for being patiently listening to me.
Thank you, Ladies and Gentlemen