Ambassador of Poland calls for Indo-Pak parleys; says security situation in Pakistan improved; hopes more foreign investments to come in Pakistan

 ISLAMABAD, NOV 20 (DNA) – Ambassador of Poland Piotr Opalinski has said security situation of Pakistan has improved considerably after Zarb-e-Azb adding sacrifices rendered by soldiers have brought positive results.

The Polish ambassador expressed these words in an interview with DNA.

The ambassador further said, the top political and military leaders are on the same page about existential threat to Pakistan, pointing at extremism as a main source of unrest not only in Pakistan, but in the whole region.

This issue needs to be resolved by the continuous and unified effort of all stakeholders. Religious minorities, Christians and others, are an indelible part of the fabric of Pakistani society – they are symbolically represented by the white stripe on the Pakistani flag, he added.

To a yet another question about regional peace the ambassador said,  without cooperation, or at least cessation of hostilities and resumption of peaceful talks the long-lasting stability in the region cannot be achieved.

Along with all members of the European Union Poland does support the shared EU position on the need of a peaceful, political settlement of the situation in Kashmir, and – as one can see from the consecutive resolutions passed by European Parliament, the EU appeals to the parties involved to come to a negotiated solution of this issue.

Poland has also – for more than a decade, supported reconstruction of Afghanistan through its development assistance instruments and political support for the Afghan government and in a recent Conference on Afghanistan in Brussels on October 5, Poland pledged to extend its contribution to the year 2020.

To a question about democracy in Pakistan he said, there was a famous quote on democracy which originated in one of Winston Churchill speeches; “No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise.

Indeed, it has been said that democracy is the worst form of Government except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.” In other words, democracy may have its liabilities that cannot be easily maintained, or might be inherited part of the system’s design.

That is for instance a tendency of leaders to undertake only those actions which let them win next elections, and not necessarily those which are not popular in society, yet may be necessary and beneficial in future, like difficult, long-term reforms leading to modernization of the country.

While authoritarian government may often appear to be a resolution for idleness of democratic government and it’s corruption, one need to remember that it is not democracy that’s corrupting the leaders, but more likely the power itself.

Hence it’s better to turn onto education, political activity and building civil society in order to positively affect the democracy instead of denying it as such, the ambassador added.

Giving a brief account of Polish companies’ involvement in Pakistan, he said, one of the biggest Polish companies in Pakistan is Polish Oil and Gas Company, actually the biggest Polish Company operating on Pakistani market.

Being one of the first to arrive in Pakistan, it is still doing very well and is planning to increase its operations. Their profile of business suits current needs of Pakistan market very well, and I’m sure it will help, or even is helping already to alleviate energy crisis. There is also increasing number of companies from FMCG sector, selling for instance cosmetics or OTC drugs, which quality is on par with products of Western countries at a lower cost.

The business climate of doing business in Pakistan as seen by the companies which are already present on the market seems to be much more favorable then presented in world media.

The great asset of Pakistan is not only natural resources, but also skillful workforce and growing consumer market. Nevertheless, security situation, uncertainty of law and energy crisis still puts off many companies even before entering the market.

The lack of mutual agreement on judiciary help combined with a red tape is not helping the companies take a decision to involve in Pak. Market. Our job is to give the companies clear and relevant picture of the country. Most companies will underline the friendly attitude of the common Pakistani people. =DNA

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