HE recently held Pakistan Investment Conference in Islamabad has produced more statements than investment.

In fact, such affairs have seldom yielded more than a chance to adjust the optics. The chairman of the Board of Investment, Mr Mif tah Ismael, made a list of investments that may come to Pakistan following the conference. However, the list is either unimpressive or it has entries that had been in the pipeline long before the conference. Still, the latter has been a useful forum to address foreign investors who have been shying away from Pakistan for a number of years now. And some of the statements made by the government leadership deserve to be noted. Chief amongst these is Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif`s assurance to the assembled delegates that Pakistan possesses strong drivers of future economic growth, and has the commitment at the top to remain a `democratic and liberal` country. The drivers of future growth, according to him, are the CPEC projects, as well as the government`s own initiatives in the energy sector, spanning LNG, solar, wind and coal. For his part, the finance minister used the opportunity to advance a political priority, telling the assembled delegates that an economic reform programme needs to be owned by all political parties and economic policy should not be politicised.

Meanwhile, the prime minister`s story has compelling aspects, because it is difficult to discount the importance of the large stakes that China is acquiring in Pakistan. With such a strong hand to back it up, Pakistan`s prospects of weathering any storm in the global economy are good. But investors will look at more than just the stakes being acquired by a foreign partner. They may also want to know how this growing partnership is expected to change the landscape for investment in the country. Telling this gathering that economic policy should not be politicised may have been misplaced, because that is an internal political matter for Pakistan, and whereas most delegates would likely agree with the proposition, they would also concur that parliament is a better place to say this. Events such as the investment conference serve as valuable forums to advance the country`s story, which is an essential ingredient for building investor confidence. It is equally important, however, for the story to ring true with the audience. That will be the big test for the assurances given by Mr Sharif. Follow-up actions can prove useful in the attempt.