Caretaker Federal Minister for Commerce and Industries, Dr. Gohar Ejaz, has announced the establishment of an expansive 10,000-acre industrial zone in Karachi, designed to meet international standards.
During a visit to the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI), the minister projected that the realisation of this vision, coupled with increasing exports to $100 billion over the next five years, could create 3 million new jobs in Karachi.
In a mutually beneficial scenario, Dr Gohar Ejaz suggested that the business community could significantly triple its earnings by actively contributing to the achievement of government-set economic targets.
He expressed full support for involving top economists as advisers to the FPCCI to contribute to policy recommendations.
Concerns were raised by the minister regarding various economic issues in Pakistan, including the trade deficit, depreciation of the rupee, a low number of active tax return filers, challenges in Afghan transit trade, reliance on external financing, and a perceived lack of active participation by the business community in the policymaking process.
Punjab Caretaker Minister of Commerce, SM Tanveer, emphasized the need for the FPCCI to establish a credible and productive research and development structure.
This structure would enable federal and provincial governments to incorporate the FPCCI’s recommendations into various policy domains, such as budgetary, industrial, trade, agricultural, monetary, taxation, SMEs, and infrastructure development policies.
FPCCI President Atif Ikram Sheikh declared the organization’s commitment to supporting the commerce minister’s reform initiatives, including the goal of achieving a $100 billion export target in five years, economic documentation, and stabilizing the rupee-dollar parity.
Sheikh revealed plans for the FPCCI to announce its research and development structure in the next 10 days, with the vision of transforming the trade organisation into a leading consultative body for the government.
He proposed that the business community actively engage in a mission to accelerate Pakistan’s exports, emphasizing effective competition, single-country exhibitions for major export destinations, diversification of the export basket, and the establishment of an efficient liaison and consultative process with the government.
Sheikh lauded the approval of a tariff of 9 cents per kilowatt-hour for export-focused industries, facilitated by the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC), as a significant milestone.
