ISLAMABAD – Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Industries and Production Haroon Akhtar Khan held a meeting with the Head of the Italian Trade Agency (ITA) Salvatore Praano in Islamabad on Friday to discuss bilateral cooperation aimed at strengthening Pakistan’s marble sector.
During the discussion, both sides reviewed opportunities to improve Pakistan’s marble industry through enhanced skills development, value addition, and the adoption of advanced technologies.
Haroon Akhtar Khan said a team of experts from Italy will be invited to assess Pakistan’s marble industry and provide actionable recommendations. He said the government aims to strengthen the national marble sector through consultation with international experts and local stakeholders.
He further stated that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has directed the formulation of a comprehensive Marble Industry Policy to promote the sector’s sustainable growth.
It may be mentioned here that Pakistan’s business sentiment has strengthened notably, with the OICCI Business Confidence Index (BCI) – Wave 28 showing an 11 percentage-point rise, pushing the overall confidence level to +22 per cent.
The latest survey, covering businesses that represent nearly 80 per cent of the country’s GDP, also highlights a significant shift towards innovation, with 43 per cent of OICCI members already adopting generative AI technologies and 81 per cent expecting AI to take over key business functions in the near future.
In a development not seen in nearly a decade, the services sector has posted its highest sectoral score since 2017, registering a record uplift of 24 per cent. The retail sector followed with a 15 per cent improvement, while manufacturing recorded a modest 1 per cent increase. Metro cities rose from 14 per cent to 23 per cent, and non-metro locations, from -3 per cent to 19 per cent, indicating broad-based geographical recovery.
OICCI members, in particular, registered a notable improvement in sentiment, with their confidence level increasing from plus 17 per cent in the previous wave to plus 27 per cent, a climb attributed to an optimistic outlook regarding investment and operational expansion in the coming period.
Forward-looking indicators also show strong momentum, with businesses reporting clearer growth plans for the next six months. The New Orders (Expansion) Index rose sharply to 41 per cent from 26 per cent, driven by the services sector’s jump from 23 per cent to 47 per cent and the retail sector’s rise from 14 per cent to 41 per cent, while manufacturing posted a modest improvement from 36 per cent to 37 per cent. Hiring expectations strengthened as well, with the New Jobs Index increasing to 16 per cent from 13 per cent, underpinned by a 21-point surge in services sector hiring plans, from 8 per cent to 29 per cent.
Investment sentiment recorded a notable turnaround: the New Investment Index improved from minus 4 per cent to plus 12 per cent, led by strong rebounds in both the services and manufacturing sectors.
