Industrialization and harnessing domestic and foreign direct investment in Punjab are the lynchpin of the provincial government’s endeavors.
Provincial Secretary Industries and Commerce Department Sohail Ashraf stated this during a series of meetings with the heads of attached organizations of the department here on Monday.
The Provincial Secretary directed the officers concerned to accelerate their activities for achieving desired outcomes of the Punjab Growth Strategy.
Sohail Ashraf said that Punjab Industries and Commerce Department was striving hard to synchronize all functions entrusted to it for making Punjab prosperous and a major contributor to the national economy.
In the same vein, he added, efforts were underway to accelerate establishment and colonization of the industrial estates and Special Economic Zones (SEZs) across the province.
“It is anticipated that our ongoing engagements with the potential investors will help mobilize FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) in Punjab, especially in the SEZs,” he added.
Sohail Ashraf underscored that the youth, majority of which belonged to Punjab, had to be educated and trained on contemporary knowledge areas, which were not only demand driven (both domestically and internationally), but also hinged upon entrepreneurialism.
“To this end, the role of our traditional technology institutions and specialized technology universities is of paramount importance. Accordingly, rigorous efforts are underway to enable these institutions to impart the desired knowledge and skills to the youth,” he maintained.
While talking about the prices of essential commodities, he highlighted that as the regulator of essential commodities’ prices, Industries Department had put in place a robust monitoring and enforcement mechanism to address market irregularities.—APP
