LAHORE: The newly appointed Managing Director of the Investment Climate Reform Unit (ICRU), Government of Punjab Ms. Maleeha Bangash, met ex Senior Vice President, LCCI Almas Hyder to discuss the objectives of ICRU and the operational strategies which it will employ. They agreed that there will be a major role for the private sector to play if the ICRU is to be effective, in terms of providing both feedback to the Government and public support for the reform activities which it will manage.
The discussion also covered the need for reforms which would impact not only on the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business indicators but also on the more broadly based Global Competitiveness Index, which is produced by the World Economic Forum – and within which Pakistan’s ranking provides considerable scope for improvement. Ms. Bangash indicated that she saw potential for the work of the ICRU to contribute to improvements in several of the 12 components which comprise the Global Competitiveness Index.
Meanwhile, Commissioner Overseas Pakistanis Commission (OPC) Punjab Mohammad Afzaal Bhatti has said that overseas Pakistanis are real asset of the country and are playing a pivotal role in economic uplift of the country therefore Commission is working day and night to resolve their issues. OPC intends to establish working relations with the Lahore Chambers of Commerce & Industry (LCCI) as collaboration between the two institutions would help yield positive results
He was talking to the President (LCCI) Abdul Basit, Senior Vice President Amjad Ali Jawa and Vice President Muhammad Nasir Hameed Khan here at LCCI . Director General OPC Javed Iqbal Bukhari, former LCCI Senior Vice President Malik Tahir Javed and Executive Committee Member Chaudhry Khadam Hussain were also present on this occasion.
Mohammad Afzaal Bhatti said that overseas Pakistanis have been facing immense problems, for instance family or property disputes, law and order concerns, settling down issues, employment hindrances, etc. He said that OPC is a brainchild of the Chief Minister Punjab Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif and is playing an efficient role to facilitate the overseas Pakistanis through redressing their complaints.
He said it has been observed that agent mafia causes huge financial loss to the innocent people. Besides this overseas Pakistanis are also discouraged to send their remittances through legal channels. He said that OPC should also look-after these issues. Moreover, the Commission should convince overseas Pakistanis to invest in Pakistan, that would help country get rid of the undue borrowing.
He informed the participants that the LCCI has established a state-of-the-art mediation center , working for out of court settlement of business disputes.
Earlier Director General OPC Javed Iqbal Bukhari gave a detailed presentation and threw light on the services and achievements of the department.
