Thank you very much High Commissioner, Ministers, members of the Pakistani National Assembly, ladies and gentlemen. It is a great pleasure to speak to you just for a few moments to underline the great importance of the many aspects of the relationship between our two countries. And very particularly because I will in a moment be unveiling a plaque to mark the decision of Clough Engineering, a very well-known Australian company based in Perth in Western Australia, to establish an office in Karachi and also an office in Islamabad. And what that decision does and what the relevance of that to our gathering tonight reminds us of is how critical is the commercial nature of our relationship to the future between the two countries.
Australia and Pakistan have a lot of history, a lot of culture, and a lot of something else called sport in common. We are two countries that have a lot in common, but we don't have as much to do with each other as should be the case. And the future lies very much in developing the economic and commercial linkages. And I've been greatly impressed today in the discussions I've had with the President, the Prime Minister, and all of the senior Ministers in the Government of Pakistan, I've been greatly impressed with the strong commitment that the Government of your country has to economic growth and economic development. This is not a time for nations to sit on the fence when it comes to economic liberalisation and the embrace of globalisation. Countries that temporise and back and fill when it comes to attracting foreign investment are the countries that unfortunately will condemn their citizens to low or even lower standards of living into the future. If you look at the history of the economies of the world, particularly in the Asian Pacific area and the north Asian area, there can be no argument that those countries that have embraced policies of attracting foreign investment, that have taken the view that being part of globalisation is really the only option available in the modern world, they are the countries whose standards of living have increased and improved. And that is why it is critical to the future of our two countries together that we focus very heavily on encouraging trade and investment. For our part we encourage Australian companies to invest in Pakistan. Australians bring, as Clough Engineering demonstrates only so well, Australian companies bring great expertise in many areas. And not least in engineering, mining and agriculture, three areas which are vital to the future growth and the future development opportunities of Pakistan.
So I am particularly pleased to be associated with a decision of a very esteemed and successful Australian company, Clough Engineering, run I suspect in an indirect way still by a very wonderful Australian businessman, certainly founded by it, Harold Clough, who I've known for many years and who epitomises successful Australian businessmen possessed of great commitment to good commercial values and integrity, but somebody who has shown great leadership in his own area. And I would say to our Pakistani friends who are here tonight that the association with the company will be an association that you will not regret.
I've had a splendid opportunity today in talking to the Government leadership of this country to renew the commitment of Australia to building a stronger and closer relationship with Pakistan. We follow the fortunes of this country, placed as it is in the forefront of the war against terrorism with great interest, great sympathy, great understanding and above all great respect for the extraordinary courage that has been displayed.
We do have many bonds of the past. I was reminded of one of them tonight when a very esteemed former foreign minister of this country reminded me that he had fought with the Rats of Tobruk, the Australian 9th Division, during World War II and it's a reminder of some of those tremendously important historical links. But you can't live on history and nostalgia, you have to build a future and the future is very, very much in partnership in economic growth, development and investment.
So it's in that spirit that I am very happy to respond to the High Commissioner's invitation to say a few words, perhaps more than a few words but you know what happens when you get a politician in front of a microphone, it becomes an irresistible combination of two forces. But I do congratulate Clough Engineering, I thank it for the contribution it's made to the Australian economy, I'm sure it'll make a great contribution to the economies of the various provinces of Pakistan in which it'll be active and I have great pleasure in declaring open the plaque and unveiling it and wishing the company well and thanking all of you for joining us tonight.
Thank you.
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