Islamabad
Pakistan and World Bank (WB) on Wednesday discussed the mutual cooperation on tariff rationalization, ease of doing business reforms and E-Commerce activities under the Ministry’s E-Commerce policy.
The newly appointed Country Director of World Bank for Pakistan, Najy Benhassine, called on the Advisor to the Prime Minister on Commerce and Investment, Abdul Razak Dawood, at Ministry of Commerce, said a press release issued here.
During the meeting, various matters for mutual cooperation were discussed, particularly support for institutional strengthening of Ministry of Commerce and same on tariff rationalization, ease of doing business reforms, and E-Commerce activities under the Ministry’s E-Commerce policy. The advisor shared an overview of different reforms and activities with the Country Director WB.
Talking about the tariff rationalization, Dawood said that the government had already revised the tariffs on raw materials and intermediaries with the objective of incorporating the remaining sectors in a phased manner, within the next three years.
The advisor added that the government was laying far greater emphasis on promoting Make in Pakistan and export led growth through this exercise as well as by focusing on objectives of product and geographical diversification.
Discussing the significance of services industry, Dawood underscored that Pakistan had tremendous untapped potential of enhancing the exports of services, particularly the IT sector.
He talked about the E-Commerce policy of the government where the experience of World Bank could be helpful in knowledge management as well as enabling the Small and Medium Enterprises to introduce E-Commerce platforms for enhanced market outreach.
The advisor also appreciated the technical support of World Bank to Board of Investment regarding Ease of Doing Business and other business climate reforms. He underlined that Pakistan would continue to follow the reform goals with the same momentum. —APP
