FAISALABAD. Textile-centric policies with a focused approach on enhancing exports are imperative for economic revival of Pakistan, said Engineer Muhammad Saeed newly elected president of the Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FCCI).
Delivering his first speech during Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the FCCI here, he discussed prevailing economic scenario and said that although other segments are also contributing their role in the uplift of national economy but the contribution of textile alone is 55% and we could only rely on this segment for the stabilization of national economy. He also touched upon the widening gap between national imports and exports and said that foreign remittance had played a major role in bridging this gap but in the changed international scenario the foreign remittance are also depleting gradually. He said that the focus of our economic policies must be on enhancing exports. He urged upon the government to reprioritize its agenda and all policies should be made textile friendly. He appreciated the efforts of the FCCI to send trade delegations to different potential international markets and said that he will continue this practice in a bid to increase our exports.
Sheikh Muhammad Saeed was also appreciative of the agreements inked during recent visit of Chief Minister Punjab to china and said that we should attract maximum foreign investment by providing business friendly climate within the country. He said that it is surprising that Pakistani exports have access to only 50 out of 196 countries. “It means that the 75% international markets are still unexplored and are waiting for Pakistani exports to fill the vacuum in their country”, he said and urged upon the Pakistani exporters to improve the quality of their products in changing international environment so that we could compete with the developed countries. He said that government should also realize its duties and take immediate steps to reduce the cost of doing business in Pakistan. He said that the government and private sectors have better understanding and they should sit together to play their role for the expeditious stabilization of national economy. “This is imperative as government will have sufficient resources with enhanced economic activity to solve the social problems of the country in addition to providing health and education cover to masses.
Commenting on the energy deficit, he said that situation has improved satisfactorily. The major industrial units are getting uninterrupted gas and electricity but our current issue is availability of cheap electricity and gas. He announced to hold a national energy conference to resolve this issue on permanent basis. “We will also organize President’s Conference of the Chambers of Commerce to promote harmony among the entire business community of Pakistan”, he said and added that FCCI will also pay its role in the budget formulation as well as policy making.
