HAFEEZ SHAIKH ARRIVES UK TO ATTEND WILTON PARK CONFERENCE ON SAREC

Islamabad, October 09, 2004

Dr. Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, Federal Minister for Privatisation & Investment arrived today at London to attend two-day Wilton Park Conference on South Asian Regional Economic Cooperation (SAREC) opening from October 11, 2004, says a message received from London.

The conference aims to build on agenda for accelerating South Asian Regional Economic Cooperation adopted at the landmark 12th SAARC Summit hosted by Pakistan. The conference will discuss the implementation of the commitments made at the Summit and the attendant challenges. The conference agenda is devised in association with the leading think-tank, the South Asian Centre for Policy Studies (SACEPS).

It will bring together more than 50 participants from government, corporate sector, policy institutes, international organizations and financial media. Dr. Abdul Hafeez Shaikh will deliver his keynote address in the opening session. Wilton Park is an academically independent agency of Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO). The conference is being held at Wiston House, a sixteenth century English country House near London. The conference will conclude on October 12, 2004.