een saving its
oil-boosted budget surpluses in a Government Petroleum Fund, which
is invested abroad and now is valued at more than $43 billion.

Oman:
Oman's economic performance improved significantly in 2000 due
largely to the upturn in oil prices. The government is moving ahead
with privatization of its utilities, the development of a body of
commercial law to facilitate foreign investment, and increased
budgetary outlays. Oman continues to liberalize its markets and
joined the World Trade Organization (WTrO) in November 2000.

Pacific Ocean:
The Pacific Ocean is a major contributor to the world
economy and particularly to those nations its waters directly touch.
It provides low-cost sea transportation between East and West,
extensive fishing grounds, offshore oil and gas fields, minerals,
and sand and gravel for the construction industry. In 1996, over 60%
of the world's fish catch came from the Pacific Ocean. Exploitation
of offshore oil and gas reserves is playing an ever-increasing role
in the energy supplies of Australia, NZ, China, US, and Peru. The
high cost of recovering offshore oil and gas, combined with the wide
swings in world prices for oil since 1985, has slowed but not
stopped new drillings.

Pakistan:
Pakistan is a poor, heavily populated country, suffering
from internal political disputes, lack of foreign investment, and a
costly confrontation with neighboring India. Pakistan's economic
outlook continues to be marred by its weak foreign exchange
position, which relies on international creditors for hard currency
inflows. The MUSHARRAF government will face an estimated $21 billion
in foreign debt coming due in 2000-03, despite having rescheduled
nearly $2 billion in debt with Paris Club members. Foreign loans and
grants provide approximately 25% of government revenue, but debt
service obligations total nearly 50% of government expenditure.
Although Pakistan successfully negotiated a $600 million IMF
Stand-By Arrangement, future loan installments will be jeopardized
if Pakistan misses critical IMF benchmarks on revenue collection and
the fiscal deficit. MUSHARRAF has complied largely with IMF
recommendations to raise petroleum prices, widen the tax net,
privatize public sector assets, and improve the balance of trade.
However, Pakistan's economic prospects remain uncertain; too little
has changed despite the new administra