<b>Pak economic superiority to beat India: Musharraf</b>
<b>ISLAMABAD : President Gen Pervez Musharraf on Thursday said Pakistan would get an edge over India by achieving economic superiority rather than indulging in an arms race.</b>
Addressing the launching ceremony of Centre of Excellence for Advanced Training and Research for Strategic Needs at the Nescom Headquarters, he said they were well aware of their defence needs and would utilise all resources for making the defence of the country impregnable and would be making their weapons system more sophisticated.
<b>The president said Pakistan was a peace-loving country and wanted cordial and friendly relations with all its neighbours and also wanted to work for maintaining peace in the region. "In todayâs era it is not the weapon superiority that makes the country strong but strong economy and prosperity of the people that contribute to making the nation strong."</b>
Therefore, he added, the government would not indulge in any arms race with India but would achieve an edge over India by gaining economic superiority. "It is knowledge which will take us ahead and raise Pakistanâs statue in the eyes of the world comity," the president said.
In order to achieve economic superiority, the president said, the government would focus its budget spending on education and science and in this regard a budget of Rs 20 billion had been earmarked for higher education sector.
The president said they were committed to promoting higher education in the country and lauded Chairman HEC Atta-ur-Rehmanâs initiatives in this regard. He added they were also sensitive to the requirements for attaining scientific superiority in various disciplines.
<b>Musharraf said in order to make Pakistan stronger in all frontiers they would also be conquering the space frontiers with the help of their close friend China. <span style='font-size:14pt;line-height:100%'>He said Pakistan would soon be sending its own astronaut into space with the help of China and talks in this direction had already been held with the Chinese president, who has agreed to help them out.</span></b>
The ceremony was attended by deputy chairman planning Akram Sheikh, PAEC chairman Dr Pervez Butt, KRL chairman and National Center for Physics Director General Dr Riazuddin. Meanwhile President Musharraf said the government was putting in place state-of-the-art facilities to turn Pakistan into an energy corridor for fast-paced development in the region.
Speaking to a four-member delegation of British Petroleum, headed by Chief Executive Exploration and Production Tony Hayward, the president said Pakistan would facilitate foreign investors in setting up oil refineries at Gwadar as part of its efforts to utilise its key strategic potential.
"Pakistan is at the heart of Central Asia, South Asia, the Gulf states and western parts of China. We are nearing completion of the Gwadar deep seaport," he said. "A network of roads linking the southern port with western and northern parts of the country is already under way to make Pakistan a hub of regional trade and energy corridor."
Musharraf said all these regions can do trade through Pakistan, welcoming the keen interest shown by British Petroleum, the top petroleum company of the UK, in the fields of exploration and privatisation. He encouraged British Petroleum, which is already engaged in offshore drilling in the country, to take part in onshore exploration.
"In view of rapidly increasing agrarian and industrial requirements of Pakistan at the back of high economic growth in the last few years, the international investors have an array of promising business possibilities in energy-related fields," he president remarked.
The British Petroleum delegationâs head informed Musharraf about his companyâs business in Pakistan and said the company specialises in laying oil and gas pipelines. He appreciated Pakistanâs recent economic strides and said the investor-friendly policies and the top leadershipâs commitment to facilitating foreign investment had made Pakistan a preferable destination for entrepreneurs.
Cheers <!--emo&:beer--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/cheers.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='cheers.gif' /><!--endemo-->
<b>ISLAMABAD : President Gen Pervez Musharraf on Thursday said Pakistan would get an edge over India by achieving economic superiority rather than indulging in an arms race.</b>
Addressing the launching ceremony of Centre of Excellence for Advanced Training and Research for Strategic Needs at the Nescom Headquarters, he said they were well aware of their defence needs and would utilise all resources for making the defence of the country impregnable and would be making their weapons system more sophisticated.
<b>The president said Pakistan was a peace-loving country and wanted cordial and friendly relations with all its neighbours and also wanted to work for maintaining peace in the region. "In todayâs era it is not the weapon superiority that makes the country strong but strong economy and prosperity of the people that contribute to making the nation strong."</b>
Therefore, he added, the government would not indulge in any arms race with India but would achieve an edge over India by gaining economic superiority. "It is knowledge which will take us ahead and raise Pakistanâs statue in the eyes of the world comity," the president said.
In order to achieve economic superiority, the president said, the government would focus its budget spending on education and science and in this regard a budget of Rs 20 billion had been earmarked for higher education sector.
The president said they were committed to promoting higher education in the country and lauded Chairman HEC Atta-ur-Rehmanâs initiatives in this regard. He added they were also sensitive to the requirements for attaining scientific superiority in various disciplines.
<b>Musharraf said in order to make Pakistan stronger in all frontiers they would also be conquering the space frontiers with the help of their close friend China. <span style='font-size:14pt;line-height:100%'>He said Pakistan would soon be sending its own astronaut into space with the help of China and talks in this direction had already been held with the Chinese president, who has agreed to help them out.</span></b>
The ceremony was attended by deputy chairman planning Akram Sheikh, PAEC chairman Dr Pervez Butt, KRL chairman and National Center for Physics Director General Dr Riazuddin. Meanwhile President Musharraf said the government was putting in place state-of-the-art facilities to turn Pakistan into an energy corridor for fast-paced development in the region.
Speaking to a four-member delegation of British Petroleum, headed by Chief Executive Exploration and Production Tony Hayward, the president said Pakistan would facilitate foreign investors in setting up oil refineries at Gwadar as part of its efforts to utilise its key strategic potential.
"Pakistan is at the heart of Central Asia, South Asia, the Gulf states and western parts of China. We are nearing completion of the Gwadar deep seaport," he said. "A network of roads linking the southern port with western and northern parts of the country is already under way to make Pakistan a hub of regional trade and energy corridor."
Musharraf said all these regions can do trade through Pakistan, welcoming the keen interest shown by British Petroleum, the top petroleum company of the UK, in the fields of exploration and privatisation. He encouraged British Petroleum, which is already engaged in offshore drilling in the country, to take part in onshore exploration.
"In view of rapidly increasing agrarian and industrial requirements of Pakistan at the back of high economic growth in the last few years, the international investors have an array of promising business possibilities in energy-related fields," he president remarked.
The British Petroleum delegationâs head informed Musharraf about his companyâs business in Pakistan and said the company specialises in laying oil and gas pipelines. He appreciated Pakistanâs recent economic strides and said the investor-friendly policies and the top leadershipâs commitment to facilitating foreign investment had made Pakistan a preferable destination for entrepreneurs.
Cheers <!--emo&:beer--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/cheers.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='cheers.gif' /><!--endemo-->