KARACHI: Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Zafar Mahmood Abbasi has stressed the need to give a jump start to the Maritime Sector of Pakistan by exploring the abundant untapped natural resources available in this particular sector which can only be done by joining hands with the business community.
“GDP growth can be doubled or even tripled by paying attention to and staying focused on the Maritime sector”, he added. Speaking at a meeting during his visit to the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI0) on Wednesday, the Naval Chief said Pakistan is blessed with abundant natural resources at its coastal belt but unfortunately, most of these resources remain unexplored and neglected which was the basic reason why he formulated three pillars of his Command Vision soon after assuming charge as Naval Chief, of which one pillar is to jump start the maritime sector.
Chairman Karachi Port Trust Rear Admiral Jamil Akhtar, Chairman Businessmen Group & Former President KCCI Siraj Kassam Teli, Vice Chairman BMG and Former President Anjum Nisar, President KCCI Muffasar Atta Malik, Senior Vice President Abdul Basit Abdul Razzak, Vice President Rehan Hanif, Former Presidents Mian Abrar, Iftikhar Ahmed Vohra, Younus Muhammad Bashir & Shamim Ahmed Firpo along with KCCI Managing Committee members were also present on the occasion.
Naval Chief further stated that Maritime Sector was currently being governed by nine Ministries which has to be reconsidered and the entire maritime sector should be brought under one Ministry in which those individuals should only be appointed who have the expertise, knowledge, experience and they fully understand the intricacies of this sector as not every bureaucrat could fully understand the intricacies of this important sector.
He said that although the Ministry of Ports & Shipping has been renamed as Ministry of Maritime Affairs, but this was not enough as lots of real reforms have to be introduced in this Ministry. “It is not going to be an easy task to implement reforms as the bureaucracy has been resisting them but we will try our best to get the reforms implemented”, he added.
Referring to lack of maritime education in Universities across Pakistan, he said that not a single university exists across the country where students could get education on maritime subjects. In this regard, Pakistan Navy is willing to introduce Center of Excellence on Oceans and Maritime Subjects at Bahria University and eventually create a Maritime University along with a Maritime Science & Technology Park.
He informed that Maritime Works Organization will also be established as the country lacks expertise on setting up coastal infrastructure, ports and harbors. “If we have to construct a jetty, we hire foreign experts as we don’t have the expertise available in Pakistan”, he said, adding that no expertise is available for Offshore Resources Exploitation hence, Maritime Works Organization will be a core organization which will be established under joint ventures but eventually it will become self-sufficient.
