TOKYO -- Having suffered its fair share of economic and security crises, Pakistan is now back on a path of steady growth. Foreign reserves have more than doubled from $10 billion to $23 billion in just three years, budget deficit is down from 9% of gross domestic product to 5%. The GDP growth rate target for the current fiscal year is 5.7%.
In an interview with the Nikkei Asian Review, Ahsan Iqbal, Pakistan's minister for planning, development and reform and one of the key figures in the government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif urged India to return to the negotiating table after a recent diplomatic and militarily row. And he stressed that, despite the slowdown in China's growth, Pakistan has vast opportunities for Chinese companies and the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, or CPEC, initiative holds huge potential.
