LAHORE: Coordinator for Minister of State and Federal Tax Ombudsman Meher Kashif Younis said Pakistan's economic landscape had undergone remarkable transformation, largely because of establishment of Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC), which had successfully attracted foreign direct investment.

Speaking as keynote speaker at seminar on 'Impact of SIFC on Pakistan Economy', held under aegis of Gold Ring Economic Forum, strategic think tank, he said initiative holds immense significance, particularly in realm of FDI as SIFC effectively engages with various countries and was fully committed to ensuring investment flows into country.

He said its manifesto included foreign investment with long-term goal of touching $60bn in five years and eventually achieving target of $ 100 billion. He said, "We need consistency in economic, fiscal and trade policies and close collaboration with local and foreign stakeholders for attracting investments."

He said it was good omen that Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait and Qatar had signed multi-billion dollar agreements for foreign direct investment depicting tremendous response to SIFC which was likely to increase substantially from January next.

He said these agreements encompass investment cooperation across diverse sectors such as energy, port operations, waste water treatment, food security, logistics and mining and aviation sectors.

Meher said International Finance Corporation in collaboration with Board of Investment had also introduced an ambitious investment plan to inject more than $ 1.5 billion in Pakistan's economy through both short-and long-term planning.

He said economic partnership between China and Pakistan had also been reinforced by inking 20 agreements and memorandums of understanding under Belt and Road Initiative cooperation.

 He hinted that countries like France, Germany and Korea had expressed their interest in signing agreements related to administrative control of power distribution companies of Pakistan.

He said strategically located Pakistan possessed tremendous potential, laced with plenty of natural resources and studded with minerals in abundance. He said what country needed most was political stability, long lasting good governance, transparency and streamlining cumbersome procedures for strengthening national economy.