LAHORE: Vice President of the Lahore Chamber of Commerce & Industry Faheem-ur-Rehman Saigal has said that dream of economically strong Pakistan can easily come true if we focus on “Blue Ocean Economy” and avail all of those opportunities which land-locked countries don’t have.
The LCCI Vice President said that unlike various other countries, Pakistan has a vast area of deep blue sea with ideal ports of Gawadar, Keti, Qasim and Pasni but role of these valuables in economy is not as important as it should be despite the fact that strong economy guarantees good defense.
He said that blue ocean economy is ranging from transportation of trading goods, communication, tourism to mineral extraction. He said that fisheries, oil drilling, ship building and ship breaking industries have a lot of economic scope. He said that Pakistan can earn billions of dollars through exports of sea food but during the fiscal year 2017-18, its fisheries exports remained just $ 451.026 million.
The LCCI Vice President mentioned that Pakistan have only one ship yard that is not enough to cater to the needs of country. Faheem-ur-Rehman Saigal said that maritime transport is backbone of global trade and global economy. He said that every country relies on Maritimes trade to sell what it has and buy what it needs. He said that around 90 per cent of world trade is carried by the international shipping industry. He said that Pakistan can grab immense benefits from these sector through public-private partnership.
The LCCI Vice President paid rich tributes to Pakistan Navy for holding Maritime Security Workshop saying that this event has made a strong relation between Pakistan Armed Forces and private sector. He said that during the workshop Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Zafar Mahmood Abbasi have lauded the role of Lahore Chamber for the promotion of Blue Economy. He said that importance of maritime has been increased after China Pakistan Economic Corridor project under One Belt One Road program. He said that economic prosperity of Pakistan is highly attached with Blue Economy and Maritime Security. He said that Pakistan Navy is fully capable of defending national maritime interests.
