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DAVOS (January 27 2006): President Pervez Musharraf took centre stage on Thursday at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, pushing his country's economic progress and projecting its image after October's disastrous earthquake.
"We have come a long way. The economy is on an upsurge," he told reporters, citing a growth rate of 8.4 percent second only to China in the region.
"We are determined to sustain this rate" despite concerns over energy, the president added. "All economic indicators are positive.
"Our economy is doing exceptionally well. What I am concerned with now is transmitting these gains to the people of Pakistan."
In his address, he said the quake which devastated Pakistan and Azad Kashmir had drilled home the importance of not ceding to panic and remaining, as a leader, visible and in touch.
HE OUTLINED A SIX-POINT BATTLE PLAN TO COPE WITH THE NATURAL DISASTERS:
-- Assess the situation calmly;
-- create an implementation organisation;
-- select the right people to lead it;
-- formulate an overall strategy;
-- generate and place adequate resources for that organisation and
-- monitor the effectiveness of the strategy, tweaking where necessary.
"No nation, no leader, can be expected to be fully prepared to meet major natural disasters," he said, but when it happened, they had to assess the situation calmly "and chart a course of action without getting into panic."
The president also informed the august gathering of world political and business leaders that the country is carrying out the process of reconstruction and rehabilitation in the quake zone in a transparent and accountable manner.
"The basic ingredient of a leader is that he should never panic, whatever the circumstances," the president said.
"It is extremely important that the leader does not sit back. He must reach out to the people immediately," Musharraf added.
Musharraf pledged to personally monitor reconstruction of areas devastated by the earthquake and thanked the world for aid pledges worth $6.2 billion.
Musharraf said that the pledges from an international donors conference had even outstripped the estimated $5.2 billion of damage from the quake.
"We have already successfully implemented the relief part. We need to successfully implement the reconstruction and rehabilitation," he said.
"I will keep monitoring that and going down myself to make sure that this is being done."
Musharraf said the quake destroyed an area more than two-thirds the size of Switzerland. It killed 73,000 people, affected 3.5 million and destroyed up to 500,000 homes as well as devastating key infrastructures such as schools and hospitals.
He said he had flown to the quake-hit region the morning after the shocks, to provide "some solace that I am with them. I think this went a long way to giving hope to the people."
Rescue operations lasted for around a month, along with longer-term relief work and, eventually, the start of the long reconstruction and rehabilitation phase.
Musharraf said money was given to the people who had lost relatives or houses, or who had been injured. Cash was also directed so that the inhabitants could rebuild their own homes, this time making them quakeproof as far as possible.
"Within two months economic and business activity resumed."
Reconstruction of clinics began earlier this month.
At a smaller event devoted to regional organisations, he said such groups were the "right way forward for mutually beneficial progress and prosperity," but while the European Union and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations were success stories, he regretted there was not "such a success story" in his own region of Asia, which includes India, Afghanistan and Iran.
Musharraf laid out conditions for regionalism to work, citing political harmony, an environment of trust and confidence and the spirit of sacrifice. "It cannot come about in an environment if dispute, conflict and lack of trust prevails. Small countries need to feel that they can gain," he said.
The spirit of accommodation, of sacrifice, "has to come from the partner with more means. When it comes from the smaller and the weaker, all the negative connotations are going to it," such as submission and appeasement, he added. Musharraf acknowledged that some loss of sovereignty was a common factor in regionalism, but argued in favour of such a move provided two prerequisites were met: security and development.
"The common urge of every nation is security, development and sovereignty. In regionalism there is inherent loss of sovereignty, but was feasible if success and development is ensured."
Earlier on Thursday, he had renewed his commitment to peace with India in a message to President Abdul Kalam to mark India's Republic Day, the Foreign Office said in Islamabad.
"Pakistan remains firmly committed to the improvement of relations with India," Musharraf was quoted as saying.
In an interview published on Thursday by the Financial Times, President Musharraf said he had no plans to ditch a natural gas pipeline deal with Iran amid pressure from the United States.
Musharraf said his country needed the gas for economic development and insisted no government had the right to oppose the project.
In Davos, his attention then turned to meetings with business leaders, a core activity at a gathering meant to build bridges between politicians, industrialists, entrepreneurs and social leaders.
In his pre- and post-speech remarks, WEF Executive Chairman Klaus Schwab recognised the key leadership qualities of President Musharraf in coping with the enormous humanitarian tragedy "in a distinct and forceful manner".
"We are full of admiration for the strategy put in place by President Musharraf and all of us should be part in promising you help and support," Schwab said amid resonating applause.
The founder of the World Economic Forum also paid tributes to the president for the country's "impressive economic achievements despite upheavals" and noted that Pakistan chalked up a growth rate of 8.4 percent in the last financial year, second only after China. "The president has masterfully confronted all the challenges and kept the country on track of high economic growth," he commended.
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