ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif Wednesday said the socio-economic uplift of people was the government’s priority and budget strategy was an important tool for achieving these objectives. He was chairing a meeting in which he was briefed regarding Budget Strategy for Financial Year 2017-18, PM’s Office said in a press release. “Our government has focused on infrastructure development but at the same time, accorded top priority to the social sector also,” he said. Nawaz said the unprecedented growth in the development allocation for FY 2017-18 had increased three folds as compared to budget allocation in FY 2012-13. “Our government had also accorded due priority to Azad Jammu & Kashmir, Gilgit Baltistan and FATA,” he added. Separately, Standard Chartered Bank Chairman Jose Vinals called on Nawaz at the PM’s House on Wednesday. Nawaz said Pakistan offered a range of investment opportunities owing to continuing economic growth and increasing foreign investment in energy and infrastructure sectors, under the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). He said Pakistan’s banking sector has shown impressive performance and proved its resilience with stable outlook. Due to growth focused policies, Pakistan has been upgraded to the list of emerging markets, he said. Nawaz added that regulatory and supervisory framework of Pakistan was very progressive and provided supportive environment to the international investors. Pakistan stock market was ranked as 5th best performing stock market in 2016 and current GDP growth rate stood above 5.3%. Jose Vinals said his bank would like to further enhance cooperation with Pakistan.