President FPCCI Atif Ikram Sheikh has said that the 40 newly-appointed trade & investment officers (TIOs) should take FPCCI onboard for trade data, research and sectorial potential; so that, they should productively act as the salesmen of the country vis-à-vis trade, investment and economic affairs.
Communication and liaison between the TIOs and the business, industry and trade community in the interest of the national economy and that is what the proposal of FPCCI to them. Atif Ikram Sheikh stressed that so far Pakistan’s trade officers have not helped the business community to accomplish the real potential of Pakistan in trade and investments; and, this should change. FPCCI the apex body willing to support them in their cause, he added. President FPCCI assured the visiting officers that FPCCI will provide the officers with practical and research-based inputs as how and where the trade-related barriers are; and, what would be the solution to accelerate the exports of the country to those potential destinations. Therefore, they should benefit from the inputs of private-sector; for which they need to establish effective communication channels and respond to the queries of business community in a timely manner. He also informed the delegation of TIOs that FPCCI will be setting up an up-to-date database of all businesses in Pakistan; so that, TIOs can readily and efficiently access any required business to guide them for the opportunities relevant to them.
This will also enable international importers to explore the potential exporters from Pakistan, he added. Saquib Fayyaz Magoon, SVP FPCCI said that if the trade missions can share reports & data on a monthly basis with us, we would be able to provide relevant data and research-based input to them accordingly regularly as we need to know what is potential of export in each country and city they are posted. The delegation also proposed that FPCCI can help them through their linkages, MOUs and working relationships with their counterpart chambers the world over; and, the joint efforts can certainly make it much more fruitful for the country.
