Prime Minister’s directive to develop a policy for promotion of exports and ease of doing business

Islamabad: Prime Minister Mian Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif has issued instructions to prepare trade policy for promotion of exports and ease of doing business.

An important review meeting regarding the trade sector was held under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, in which the Prime Minister said that we need to prepare such a trade policy that facilitates and facilitates business. Urgent steps should be taken to make domestic exports more competitive.

He said that steps should be taken regarding exports of non-traditional goods. Consultation with the private sector should be ensured while formulating policies regarding ease of trade and business. The role of private sector and industry is very important in the country’s development. Exporters certified duty drawbacks should be paid promptly.

The Prime Minister emphasized that the deletion policy should be implemented for the development of the domestic auto sector and a comprehensive strategy should be set up to evaluate the performance of trade and investment officers posted in Pakistani embassies abroad. He said that trade officers who perform well will be appreciated, while officers who perform poorly will be severely reprimanded and removed from their positions.

The Prime Minister said on this occasion that he will conduct a self-assessment of the export sector twice every month.

A briefing was given to the participants of the meeting, in which it was informed that the negotiations regarding the Free Trade Agreement between Pakistan and the Gulf countries are in the final stages. Corridor trade agreements with Uzbekistan and Tajikistan have been activated with positive results. 450 business-to-business meetings were held in the recent Pak-Saudi Business Conference in Islamabad.

It was further said in the briefing that the volume of e-commerce is increasing gradually. Pakistan Trade Portal has added more than 3 thousand companies each. Monitoring in Afghan transit trade has been tightened. Premium growth of public sector insurance companies is in double digits. Work on Gem export framework is in final stages.

According to the briefing given in the meeting, both countries have expressed their consent in principle regarding the operationalization of barter trade with Iran and Russia. Stakeholders are being consulted regarding preferential trade agreements with Azerbaijan and Afghanistan. Necessary consultations regarding the new strategic trade policy are also underway.

Federal Minister for Commerce Jam Kamal Khan, Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Muhammad Aurangzeb, Minister for Petroleum Mossadegh Malik, Minister for Economic Affairs Ahad Khan Cheema, Deputy Chairman Planning Commission Jahanzeb Khan, Governor State Bank and relevant senior government officials participated in the meeting.