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Your Highness

Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan,

Foreign Minister of the UAE

Your Excellency,

Mr. Bulent Arinc,

Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey,

Excellencies,

Distinguished Delegates,

Ladies and Gentlemen

Assalamo Alaikum and a very good morning.

Allow me at the outset to put on record our profound gratitude to His Highness Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan for convening this very timely conference.

It was at Istanbul in August last year when we met on the sidelines of the second Friends of Democratic Pakistan (FODP) Ministerial Meeting that His Highness offered to host this conference.

This reflects the very strong relationship that exists between our two brotherly countries at all levels.

This is a relationship based on mutual respect and mutual trust.

It is therefore no coincidence that the UAE is now Pakistan's second largest trading partner and the second biggest source of foreign investment and remittances.

For the people of Pakistan the UAE is like their second home.

Over 800,000 Pakistani diaspora in the UAE is actively contributing to its development.

Being a commercial and economic hub, Dubai offers the best setting for such a conference.

On behalf of all participants of the conference as well as on my own behalf I would like to express our sincere thanks to the UAE government for making impeccable arrangements for the conference and for their exceptionally warm hospitality.

I am also grateful to you all for attending this conference. I wish you a very comfortable and productive stay in Dubai.

Ladies and Gentleman:

The FODP was launched in New York in September 2008.

This unique process, involving 20 countries and 6 multilateral organizations, was conceived to help Pakistan win against extremism and terrorism; to triumph over the unintended consequences and legacies of the long conflict in Afghanistan.

The creation of the FODP was also an acknowledgement of the fact that the hydra-headed menace of terrorism is our common enemy.

We are all struck by it in one way or another. And no one country, however preponderant, can battle it out alone.

In our fast globalizing world, both opportunities and challenges transcend the limits of our national borders.

We thus win and lose together.

To eliminate the horrifying scourge of terrorism, not only we need each other but also need to muster extraordinary resolve, perseverance and patience.

Terrorism seeks to frighten the civilized world, divide us, and have its way through by creating chaos and anarchy.

We cannot allow centuries of our hard work of building a world devoid of social, economic and political ills go down the drain.

The FODP is an embodiment of our collective determination against the evil mindset; to protect our shared civilization; and to bequeath a better world to posterity.

Ladies and Gentlemen:

Pakistan has suffered immensely at the hands of militancy and terrorism. In addition to losing thousands of lives, including civilians, policemen and military personnel, we also suffered huge economic losses in terms of infrastructure, investment and exports.

According to conservative estimates, Pakistan has suffered losses of over $35 billion since 9/11.

The socio-political cost of terrorism and militancy inflicted on our country is immeasurable, to say the least.

It goes to the credit of the democratic government of Pakistan that it has been able to build national consensus against violent extremism.

Today, the Pakistani nation is united against terrorism. We are resolved not to let this consensus weaken or whittle away.

It was the unprecedented public support that helped cleanse Swat and Malakand of militants.

Our armed forces and law enforcement agencies have demonstrated utmost professionalism. We are proud of their valour and accomplishments. Their sacrifices in counterterrorism will be long remembered by the people of Pakistan and beyond.

The national consensus against terrorism is of seminal importance to also succeed against terrorists in the FATA (Federally Administered Tribal Areas) region.

You will agree that counterterrorism is not just about capturing and eliminating terrorists. It is more about addressing the process of radicalization.

No strategy against terrorism can work unless it is all-encompassing.

Poverty and socio-economic alienation are being exploited by the terrorist outfits and their masterminds to lure young impressionable minds and recruit them as ‘foot soldiers' and suicide bombers.

It is indeed shocking to see young in their teens falling into a hideous trap of killing themselves and others for misguided objectives based on blinkered ideological and political outlooks.

All our efforts against terrorism and extremism will come to naught should we fail to address their root causes.

History has shown us time and again that partial solutions lead only to reincarnation of old problems with a vengeance.

The challenges of holding and building violence-affected areas are therefore fundamental to achieving a decisive victory against terrorism.

Over 2 million people had to undergo the predicament of dislocation as a result of the operation in the Malakand region. Almost all of those displaced have now returned to their homes, awaiting help to start their lives afresh.

Our three-year plan of reconstruction and rehabilitation containing close to 500 projects will cost about $ 300 million. The development plan of five years, based on Post-crisis Needs Assessment (PCNA), would cost around $1.2 billion.

This amount is indeed negligible, especially when compared to billions of dollars being spent in the ongoing conflict in Afghanistan.

I can tell you with full confidence that should this amount come through readily it will make a huge difference; this will help win hearts and minds.

But if we fail in looking after the local population and their lives do not change for better, the public support for operations in the FATA region may not hold for long.

This is exactly what militants want to happen. The question is can we afford to dither at this decisive stage of our fight against terrorism. Clearly, we cannot.

The Malakand Pilot Project was endorsed by the FODP Ministerial Meeting held in Istanbul on 25 August 2009.

Our FODP partners should expedite their respective commitments and pledges lest this opportunity of consolidating the gains secured so painstakingly slip away from our hands.

Ladies and Gentlemen:

The FODP has come a long way since its creation.

Three Ministerial Meetings have been held in Abu Dhabi, Tokyo and Istanbul, and a Summit Meeting in New York last year. The summit was co-chaired by President Asif Ali Zardari, President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Gordon Brown. That was an unprecedented show of solidarity with the people of Pakistan.

The world leaders committed to stand side by side with Pakistan to help it in its long-term social-economic development in tune with its own national priorities.

It is also important to underline that governments alone will not be able to turn the tide. Active and purposeful engagement of civil society and corporate sector is a must.

Building peace and prosperity is our collective responsibility. Our destinies are intertwined. Long gone are the days when nations could live in isolation.

The co-chair's statement issued at the end of the first FODP summit, therefore, rightly recognized the importance of public-private partnerships in accelerating Pakistan's socio-economic development.

The FODP countries fully support this initiative as the presence of FODP focal points at this conference indicates.

The governments of FODP countries, as well as international financial institutions are ready to support the private sector to step forward and contribute towards Pakistan's progress.

The government and the people of Pakistan are thankful to the representatives of the corporate sector for joining us at this conference.

We are confident that you will go back from here reasonably convinced of plenty of promising opportunities Pakistan offers for your respective businesses.

This conference is a first step towards building our long-term mutually beneficial relationships.

This is to invite you to join us in creating win-win situations.

Ladies and Gentlemen:

The overall situation in Pakistan is being unduly exaggerated.

We cannot deny or brush aside the difficulties we are going through. Nor can we, realistically speaking, address them overnight.

Pakistan, a country of over 170 million resilient people, with its prime location straddling South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East, is uniquely placed to become a hub of inter-regional economic and commercial activities.

Our land is blessed with all kinds of resources. We have one of the world's largest copper and coal reserves.

We can produce over 50, 000 MW of additional electricity from run-of-river projects.

We are surplus in food and can easily cater to requirements of so many countries with proper investments.

Pakistan is the fourth biggest producer of milk in the world, but unfortunately a very negligible quantity goes into processing.

In short, Pakistan is a resource-rich country. Countless investment opportunities are there to be exploited.

We are looking for partners to come forward and take advantage of these excellent opportunities to our mutual benefit.

Several hundred companies from FODP countries including China, US, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Japan, South Korea, Spain, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Canada, Australia, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and UAE are present in Pakistan and engaged in diverse small, medium and mega projects in the country.

Pakistan offers one of the friendliest foreign investment regimes and public-private partnership frameworks in the world.

Returns are significantly higher and assured. And this is the right time to invest in Pakistan.

We are moving full throttle in all areas of economy concurrently.

Gaps in our socio-economic development--be those in infrastructure, energy, agriculture, education and health--are being plugged as part of an integrated and focused strategy.

We have set out our national priorities anchored in our potential and our requirements. We want you to help us and join us in this process.

Your timely and sustained engagement will help speed up our march in progress.

Our partnership will go a long way in converting challenges into opportunities.

Ladies and Gentlemen:

Pakistan is also cognizant of the fact how important it is to achieve peace and security in the region as a whole for sustained economic activities.

Our relations with Afghanistan have come a long way in the last one year.

Through bilateral, trilateral, quadrilateral and multilateral processes we are effectively working with other stakeholders to take Afghanistan out of the extended imbroglio.

A stable and peaceful Afghanistan is in Pakistan's core strategic interest, including our long-term economic and commercial relations with the Central Asian Republics.

Pakistan, therefore, has legitimate and genuine concerns vis-à-vis Afghanistan.

We also want to improve and normalize our relations with India.

Our two countries cannot live in animosity for ever. We need a paradigm shift in our bilateral relations from conflict to cooperation.

South Asia is the only region in the world which lacks vibrancy of intra-regional cooperation. This is primarily because of the disputes between our two countries.

We need to resolve our bilateral disputes and sooner the better.

Pakistan is doing all it can to make this happen,

Ladies and Gentlemen:

Today's Pakistan is qualitatively different than it was a few years ago.

We are a functioning democracy, with strong institutions, vibrant civil society and free media.

Our country and our people have been through many a crises but the worst is now over.

Pakistan has been put on an upward and irreversible trajectory of progress and prosperity.

Let me conclude by saying that Pakistan is a big country with incredibly huge untapped resources of all kinds.

We are looking for joint ventures, public-private partnerships, investment and trade under frameworks and mechanisms that can be sustained in the years to come.

We are here to learn from you. There is a great responsibility that rests with the Government and I am here to assure you that we will learn from past mistakes and demonstrate a resolve to make investment in Pakistan easier and safer. We are currently working on several laws to further protect the investor against political and country risks.

In a nutshell, we wish to create win-win scenarios for all those who wish to engage in opportunities that Pakistan offers aplenty.

A great Chinese military thinker Sun Tzu once said: “Opportunities multiply as they are seized”. I invite you to seize and multiply the opportunities Pakistan is offering to you all.

Pakistan is destined to become a stable and prosperous country. I once again invite you to join us in our march towards prosperity.

Thank you.

Islamabad

26 January 2010