LAHORE: All Pakistan Business Forum (APBF) urged the government to take business community on board in preparing policies to enhance exports so that fast widening trade deficit could be diminished.
The APBF Executive Committee met here with its chairman Nabeel Hashmi in the chair and attended by President Rashid Mehr, Senior Vice President Imtiaz Rastgar, Yaqoob Izhar, Munir Bana and Faisal Afridi.
The Committee suggested the government departments concerned to join heads with the private sector for finding out a methodology for increasing the exports of the country.
Nabeel Hashmi said, “Revamping of Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) and formation of new trade specific export promotion agencies having independent budgets and policies is need of the hour.”
He said that business community had prepared recommendations to share with the policy makers to boost economic activities in the country, saying the government should implement all their practical proposals without any delay. “Business community understands that the Punjab government was moving in the right direction and its seriousness on business issues would yield positive results,” he maintained.
The APBF chairman urged the government that all stakeholders be taken on board, while preparing industry-related policies, asserting that industrial estates be exempted from load-shedding of gas and electricity to meet the local market and export targets.
APBF Sindh Chapter President Munir Bana said that Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) should be promoted through a coordinated and tailored mechanism.
