GUJRAT, Pakistan: A common Expo Centre will be established for Cities of Sialkot, Gujrat, Wazirabad, and Gujranwala for which the Punjab government will be approached for allocation of land.
This was agreed in principle by the Prime Minister’s Advisor on Commerce and Investment Abdul Razak Dawood in an official visit to Gujrat Chamber of Commerce and Industries (GTCCI) on Saturday.
The advisor recognized and appreciated the role of the industry in these Cities for their contribution in overall exports of Pakistan and assured full support to exporters and industrialists.
Abdul Razak Dawood underlined that for sustainable growth in exports, we need to diversify our products into the developmental sectors and find new markets, including Africa and the Middle East, etc.
During the visit, the advisor discussed the development of fans, furniture, and pottery industries with the representatives.
Dawood visited the Pakistan Electric Fan Manufacturers Association where the representatives shared different issues related to the export of fans and discussed practical and constructive solutions for the development of the industry and resolution of problems.
The association members appreciated the Ministry of Commerce for various measures and interventions for boosting exports and promoting the engineering sector, especially the recent move for revision of rates of duty drawbacks for electric fans.
In addition, the problems related to Mandi Bahauddin were also raised by the Chamber representatives.
The advisor assured that the government will play its facilitative role in finding solutions to their issues.
In the meetings with industry representatives, the advisor said that Pakistan has been able to successfully deal with the health and economic challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic because of the effective coordination between the federal and provincial authorities, as well as the private sector.
Abdul Razak Dawood underscored that due to these joint efforts and proper implementation of SOPs, Pakistan was able to bounce back quickly, in terms of exports, as compared to its regional competitors.
The advisor on Commerce apprised the representatives of the industry of various cost reduction measures, like tariff rationalization on raw materials and intermediaries taken by the Ministry of Commerce to enable the industry to manufacture their products on globally competitive rates and ensure value-addition.
Dawood reiterated that these measures are essential for the strengthening of the economy by promoting ‘Make in Pakistan’ export-led growth and import substitution.
The advisor informed that the government has already done tariff rationalization for 41 percent of the raw materials and intermediaries while the next measures are also under consideration for different sectors including chemicals, engineering, pharmaceuticals, leather, food processing, and textiles under the three years tariff rationalization plan of the MOC.
