Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf directed the Board of Investment (BOI), on Wednesday, to evolve a mechanism to become attractive for investments in the country.

Presiding over the sixth BOI board meeting at the PM Secretariat, the prime minister said that there was a need to further strengthen the investment body. Ashraf said it was ironic that Pakistan, having one of the best investment policies on paper, was failing to attract foreign investment, which was critical for healthy growth of the economy.

The premier said that the process of approving projects employed presently was cumbersome and involvement of a large number of departments made it near impossible for a proposed project to be initiated, which was discouraging investors.

“We need to work on a one window system where the investor can be provided all necessary information and facilities,” said Ashraf. He directed the bureaucracy to work on simplification of the procedures by revisiting the existing processes without compromising on transparency so that foreign investors fell right at home.