Pakistan-China economic partnership key to South Asian growth: Rohantha

In the backdrop of the failed peace dialogue between India and Pakistan called by new Prime Minister Imran Khan on the side lines of the UN General Assembly, the Karachi Province that accounts for 60% of the competitive index of Pakistan staged The Pakistan South East Asia Business Forum 2018 at Marriot Hotel, Karachi. The objective of the conference was to create awareness of the Pakistan-China Economic corridor and the impact it can have on the 320 billion dollar economy with exports touching 24 billion dollars.

The Chief Guest of the event was Sardar Masood Khan – the 27th President of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, who was the former Director General of the Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad and Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United Nations apart from being the Ambassador to China from 2008 to 2012. The essence of his message to the key personalities of the Pakistan economy was, ‘We have a bright future in the area of exports and tourism and we must not allow this opportunity slip this time around’, said the experienced and respected diplomat cum policy maker in the Pakistan government. The keynote was delivered by Air Chief Marshall Sohail Aman who explained the opportunities from the Pakistan-China Economic Partnership. From the three foreign delegates invited to address the forum, Sri Lankan business personality Dr. Rohantha Athukorala who has experience of serving both the Public Sector being Chairman of three state organisations in exports, tourism and retail trade whilst also working in the Private Sector for top global multinationals like Reckitts and DiverseyLever including a five-year stint in the United Nations-UNOPS shared his experience on the topic ‘7 Lessons for Pakistan from Sri Lanka’. A key point he shared was that both countries had one thing in common – high debt at around 60-70% of GDP whilst 2019 being a decisive year for the economy given the debt serving whilst the exchange rate weakens against the US dollar.

Capturing the Pakistan experience of following IMF reforms he said in his view the results seem positive. Given that the overall nation brand value has grown from a mere 93 billion in 2015 to 128 billion dollars in 2016, which is a 38% increase, this performance reflects the overall performance on eight difference fronts that includes exports and tourism that has performed with deep rooted cutting-edge reforms that has been implemented in Pakistan by a public-private partnership. This is a very strong threading that can be built in the years to come with the new leadership in the country, commented Athukorala. However, passing down the loan repayment to the people of a country can have political and social ramifications, like what we see in Sri Lanka. Pakistan needs to carefully think of the economic policy strategy given that there is a new government in the country, cautioned Dr. Athukorala. 

A key point highlighted by the Sri Lankan speaker was that the Economic Corridor between Pakistan and China can definitely make the Pakistan exports grow outside the organic growth model and have a positive rub off to South Asian countries too. “Pakistan can and must move from the 20 billion dollar export economy to the targeted 60 billion dollars, provided that strategic supply chain development is planned by policy makers. The availability of skilled employment in Pakistan is a very strong ‘enabler’ together with the reform capacity that the country has proven to have. But ensure that export revenue includes tourism revenue,” emphasised Dr. Athukorala. “Set up a strong team and launch a unique International Tourism Marketing campaign within the next three-four months under a theme like – Discover the Oldest Civilisation – Pakistan’ so that there can be a positive rub off on different dimensions; the most important being to re-position the country globally,” advised Dr. Athukorala. 

“Do it with strong governance. This is one key lesson I can share from countries like Croatia and Estonia that have come from difficult times to become ‘challenger nation’ in the global stage,” he voiced. Pakistan can become the trailblazer strong country given the economic partnership agreement with China but how it manages the global geo political balance between the US and India will determine the real impact the country can have in the next five years, he cautioned.

“The maritime links where Middle East, Pakistan port and Hambantota port on Sri Lanka brings into the equation is a never before opportunity that Pakistan must not miss,” he went on to say explain.

The Pakistan South East Asian Business Forum is dedicated to convening ‘Global Thought Leaders’ from public and private sectors to discuss innovative and collaborative ways to solve modern challenges of global economic growth and overcome them by sharing responsibility, building purposeful alliances between stakeholders and using dialogue for long-term success.