Our Correspondent Sialkot
Adviser to Prime Minster on Commerce and Investment Abdul Razak Dawood has said that the government is successfully completing its agenda of economic stability.
He was addressing a meeting of exporters at the Sialkot Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) here on Saturday.
SCCI President Qaisar Iqbal Baryar, Senior Vice President (SVP) Khurram Aslam Butt, Vice President (VP) Ansar Puri, Chairman AirSial Airline Fazal Jillani, Chairman Sialkot International Airline Limited (SIAL) Khwaja Masood Akhtar (Sitara Imtiaz), SCCI former presidents and a large number of business community members were also present.
Dawood said: “We must focus on regional trade. We have very low trade with regions. The EU regional trade is 90%.”
Dawood said that Prime Minister Imran Khan’s visit to Uzbekistan was a successful visit, in which 71 agreements were signed with Uzbekistan.
He said Uzbekistan would also prove to be a gateway for Pakistan to other Central Asian countries.
Dawood said that the preferential trade agreement (PTA) would be signed on Sept 30, 2021. Uzbekistan has good relationships with the Central Asian Republics, he added.
He said that single country exhibition was going to be held in Tashkent (Uzbekistan) soon to promote a wide range of export goods. He urged the Sialkot exporters to participate and explore the opportunities internationally.
He said that the government had made products exports competitive in the federal budget 2021-22 by rationalising the tariff lines of over 4,000 raw materials, comprising around 42% of total imported raw material.
Dawood added that a meeting of businessmen and the chambers would be held after Eidul Azha with the prime minister, to set the targets of exports for the next financial year.
Dawood promised his full support in resolution of all issues presented by the SCCI president, and the export sector would be facilitated to the maximum.
He said he would discuss the EXIM Bank issues with the finance minister soon. He congratulated Sialkot exporters for increasing their exports.
He also appreciated e-commerce training in Sialkot. Dawood said that economic and industrial boost was top of the economical agenda of the government, for which the government was taking the business community into confidence.
He said the Sialkot exporters were playing a role of backbone in strengthening the national economy.
He said that the government was keeping the industrial wheel moving ahead. He said that government’s policies would be helpful in establishing strong bases in the country.
He said that strong industrial base was also vital for boosting and increasing the national exports, adding that all impediments would be removed from the way of promotion of exports.
