ISLAMABAD: Government goes for a final check of Ease of Doing Business indicators at national level, prior to the World Bank team’s arrival.
These views were expressed by Advisor to Prime Minister on Commerce, Textile, Industries & Production and Investment, Abdul Razak Dawood while presiding over a high-level review meeting on the ease of doing business reforms agenda in the Board of Investment (BOI). Chairman BOI, Haroon Sharif, was also present.
Razak Dawood highlighted that Pakistan has improved its ranking by 11 points and moved from 147th/190 to 136th/190 in Doing Business Report 2019. He appreciated the implementation of reforms and insisted that a continuous effort from all provincial and federal government departments is required. He also appreciated assistance of the World Bank Group as Business climate reform partner. Advisor stressed that the doing business reforms are the priority of Prime Minister Imran Khan, who regularly reviews the progress.
The prime minister has already chaired a number of review meetings and next meeting expected shortly with participation of all relevant federal secretaries and the provincial chief secretaries. Addressing the participants, Haroon Sharif said that the government is pushing the reform agenda that would transform the business climate in the country and he reiterated that approach of all government departments, provincial and federal, was important for efficient implementation of reforms. Executive Director General BOI, Ms. Fareena Mazhar, briefed the participants about the completed reforms. She mentioned that the reform update is being submitted to World Bank Group, which an important document that contributes to the improvement of ease of doing business ranking.
Later on, the officials from all government agencies also shared the implementation status of their respective agencies. The advisor to the Prime Minister expressed his satisfaction over the performance of the agencies. Dawood also directed all the agencies to make sure that all reforms in progress completed before April 30, 2019. He put stress on the importance of improving the business climate and reiterated that close coordination among government departments play crucial role in efficient and transparent facilitation.
