Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif chaired a meeting of the National Development Exports Board where he set an ambitious target of increasing Pakistan’s domestic exports to $60 billion annually.
The Prime Minister emphasized the importance of practical steps taken by the Ministry of Trade and related institutions to achieve this goal in the next three years.
Export growth, industry development
Addressing the meeting, Prime Minister Sharif highlighted the country’s recent export achievements and noted that Pakistan’s exports exceeded $30 billion in the last financial year. He also praised the information technology sector, whose exports exceeded $3.2 billion.
“Resolve the issues raised by the exporters and submit a report in the next two weeks,” the prime minister ordered, stressing his commitment to address export-related issues. He announced that he would personally chair the meetings of the National Development Exports Board every one and a half months to ensure consistent progress.
Shehbaz urged the commerce ministry to work with industry representatives to finalize policy proposals aimed at boosting export potential. He emphasized the need to improve extension services in agricultural exports and introduce high-yielding types of agricultural commodities to increase productivity.
The prime minister also directed the power ministry to come up with a comprehensive plan to reduce the cost of electricity for industry.
He also said that the export of quality seeds and agricultural commodities should be ensured through further processing and accelerated steps to introduce high-yielding varieties of agricultural commodities.
Resolving export issues
To facilitate smoother export processes, Prime Minister Sharif emphasized the need to resolve issues related to export dispatch and reduce the delivery time of Pakistani goods to Europe and America. He emphasized the importance of the Board of Investment’s cooperation with the Ministry of Commerce in moving the Chinese export industry to Pakistan.
The Prime Minister further assured that the Federal Bureau of Revenue (FBR) would expedite the refund of export taxes without delay.
“No delay in export tax refund will be tolerated on behalf of FBR,” the prime minister stressed.
Role of business officers, private sector
The Prime Minister called upon the trade officers at Pakistani embassies around the world to play an active role in promoting Pakistani goods and guiding exporters. He also recognized the key role of the private sector in national development and emphasized the importance of its inclusion in policy formulation processes to address their challenges.
He directed the power department to come up with a comprehensive plan to reduce the cost of electricity for industries.
The Prime Minister concluded by saying that all over the world, the private sector plays a key role in the development of any country. To solve the problems of the private sector, they should be made part of the policy formulation process, he suggested.
