Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Shaukat Tarin said on Monday that Canada was one of the major development partners of Pakistan, stressing the need to further strengthen business and economic linkages between the two countries. During a meeting with High Commissioner of Canada for Pakistan, Ms Wendy Gilmour, who called on him, the minister stated that Pakistan had long-standing and multidimensional ties with Canada. Extending a warm welcome to the Canadian High Commissioner, the finance minister said Canada had a large number of Pakistani diaspora and people to people contacts contribute an important component of the bilateral relations. He briefed the Canadian High Commissioner about the recent economic developments and initiatives, saying that enhancing revenue collection, boosting exports, increasing remittances and making the energy sector sustainable were the foremost priorities of the current government. In addition to these, the government would promote agriculture, housing and the SME sector while Kamyab Pakistan Program would be its signature project, he added. The minister said that for inclusive and sustainable growth, the government was preparing various short, medium and long term plans in 14 priority areas and it was his firm belief that these plans would bring about a turnaround of the economy and establish it on a more sound footing. On the occasion, the Canadian High Commissioner thanked the minister for his time and informed him that the Canadian Business Community saw great investment potential in wind-power generation, power transmission systems as well as the mining sector in Pakistan. She stated that the government’s support in these areas would attract Canadian investors to bring their businesses to Pakistan. The finance minister assured the Canadian High Commissioner of his support for attracting investment in Pakistan.