Ottawa; April 10, 2021:Pakistan High Commission in Ottawa and Agha Khan Development Network in Canada will work together to further promote and expand Agha Khan Foundation’s work in Pakistan, motivate and facilitate Canadian and expatriate Pakistanis to invest in Pakistan and coordinate efforts to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic.
This was decided during a virtual meeting between Pakistan High Commissioner in Canada Raza Bashir Tarar and Dr Mahmoud Eboo, Diplomatic Representative at Aga Khan Development Network in Canada. A number of issues, including ongoing projects of Agha Khan Foundation in Pakistan and Agha Khan Development Network’s support to Pakistani expatriates and their businesses in Canada, were also discussed.
Raza Bashir Tarar told Dr Mahmoud Eboo Pakistan owes a great debt of gratitude to His Highness Agha Khan and his elders, including his worthy grandfather, for their many services to the people of Pakistan starting from their role in the freedom movement and creation of Pakistan to a large number of vital projects launched in the country over the past many years for socio-economic uplift and human development.
The High Commissioner said the Government of Pakistan under Prime Minister Imran Khan had been pushing for a shift from geopolitics and geostrategic considerations to geoeconomics and engagement with development partners and organisations such as Agha Khan Development Network through their in-hand experience, expertise and knowledge sharing could be of immense help in driving this effort.
Dr Mahmoud Eboo said Agha Khan Foundation had been working in many and diverse areas in Pakistan and their partnership with the Government of Pakistan and commitment to its people would continue in the years ahead. He said Agha Khan Development Network in Canada had also been providing much-needed technical support and building capacities of several Canadian businessmen for taking their investments to Pakistan.
Raza Bashir Tarar said Pakistan High Commission could offer any assistance to the expatriate Pakistanis in harnessing their business potential and addressing their concerns and answering any questions about the business and investment climate in Pakistan. He said Pakistan economy had been showing a positive growth despite the COVID-19 crisis as evidenced by 9 per cent growth in largescale manufacturing, robust sales in cement and automobiles, steady growth in exports and foreign remittances and these trends were likely to strengthen and further improve the economic conditions in months ahead as forecast by State Bank of Pakistan as well as development partners such as World Bank and IMF.