Zim-pakistan relations can only grow stronger

Thousands of Zimbabweans laid their lives in the liberation war.
On Defence Forces Day Zimbabweans and the uniformed forces, the army, police and prison services celebrate their dedication to protecting national sovereignty, upholding justice and maintaining law and order.
National Unity Day is a commemoration of nation building in post-independent Zimbabwe.
With its 180 million people, Pakistan is the sixth largest country in the world.
It has an area of 796 000 square kilometres.
The Indus Valley civilisation dates back to 5 000 years and was spread over much of what is presently Pakistan.
The area underwent amalgamation of cultures because of Asian and European invaders, mainly the Persians, Greeks, Scythians, Arabs (who brought Islam), Afghans, Turks and Mongols.
The Mughal Empire controlled the entire sub continent from Afghanistan to present day Bangladesh and Kashmir to present state of Tamil Nadu in India in the 16th and 17th centuries.
The British came to dominate the region in the 19th century, finally resulting in independence of South Asian region in 1947.
Relations between Pakistan and Zimbabwe date back to the early years of independence when Pakistan principally supported Zimbabwe and helped rebuild the Air Force.
The two countries have noteworthy cultural, economic and political ties which have been cemented in last decade.
Pakistan and Zimbabwe have also co-operated in the security sector through exchange programmes of training of military officers.
The Pakistani government has pledged to always stand by Zimbabwe in its challenging times and continue to render assistance in every way possible in an effort to cement the already cordial relations between the two countries.
Pakistan, Next 11 and Zimbawe
The Next Eleven (N-11) are the eleven countries — Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Turkey, South Korea, and Vietnam — identified by Goldman Sachs investment bank and economist Jim O’Neill in a research paper as having a high potential of becoming, along with the BRICS, the world’s largest economies in the 21st century.
The bank chose these states, all with promising outlooks for investment and future growth, on December 12, 2005.
The criteria that Goldman Sachs used were macroeconomic stability, political maturity, openness of trade and investment policies, and the quality of education.
The N-11 paper is a follow-up to the bank’s 2003 paper on the four emerging “BRIC” economies, Brazil, Russia, India, and China.
Pakistan
Presently Pakistan is the world’s sixth most populous country after China, India, USA, Indonesia, and Brazil.
With most of the population working in agriculture, it is a nation with a partially democratic system, GDP growth was steady during the mid-2000s at a rate of 7 percent; however, slowed down during the economic crisis of 2008 to 4,7 percent.
Pakistan’s GDP is US$167 billion, which makes it the 48th-largest economy in the world or 27th largest by purchasing power adjusted exchange rates.
Today, Pakistan is regarded as having the second largest economy in South Asia.
The structure of the Pakistani economy has changed from a mainly agricultural base to a strong service base.
Agriculture now only accounts for roughly 20 percent of the GDP, while the service sector accounts for 53 percent of the GDP.
Significant foreign investments have been made in several areas including telecommunications, real estate and energy.
Other important industries include apparel and textiles (accounting for nearly 60 percent of exports), food processing, chemicals manufacture, and the iron and steel industries.
Pakistan’s exports in 2008 amounted to US$20,62 billion and in 2011 amounted to US$25 billion (USD).
Pakistan is a rapidly developing country
As per Haq Musing, it is unrealistic to assume that Pakistan’s economy will now benefit from its very young population.
With half of its population below 20 years and 60 percent below 30 years, Pakistan is well-positioned to reap huge demographic dividend, with its workforce growing at a faster rate than total population.
This trend is estimated to accelerate over several decades.
The average Pakistanis are now taking education more seriously than ever.
Youth literacy is about 70 percent and growing, and young people are spending more time in schools and colleges to graduate at higher rates than their Indian counterparts in 15+ age group, according to a report on educational achievement by Harvard University researchers Robert Barro and Jong-Wha Lee.
Vocational training is also getting increased focus since 2006 under National Vocational Training Commission (NAVTEC), with help from Germany, Japan, South Korea nd the Netherlands.
The fact is that equity markets in Pakistan have already produced much higher returns than BRICS’ markets have over the last decade.
Pakistan and Zimbabwe can mutually benefit from each other by enhancing the strategic relationship in the fields of agriculture, services, information technology, mining, power generation, defence and production, including joint training and exchange of culture.
With the upheavals in North Africa and Middle East, Pakistan and Zimbabwe have no option but to co-operate in their quest for liberty, democracy and human resource development.