ISLAMABAD: President of the Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI), Sardar Tahir Mehmood, while talking to a visiting delegation of industry here on Monday, said that export-led growth is the only viable and sustainable path for Pakistan’s economic revival. He emphasized that exports are not merely a source of foreign exchange but a key driver of productivity, competitiveness, and long-term economic stability.
The ICCI President noted that despite some improvement in sectors such as textiles, IT services, and agro-based products, Pakistan’s export performance remains below its true potential. He identified li+mited value addition, high energy costs, inconsistent industrial policies, weak international branding, and restricted access to global supply chains as major challenges confronting exporters.
Sardar Tahir Mehmood stressed the urgent need to shift from volume-based exports to value-added and knowledge-driven products, calling for focused support to priority sectors including textiles, IT, pharmaceuticals, engineering goods, agro-processing, and light manufacturing. He said competitive energy pricing, tax incentives, and effective export facilitation were essential to strengthen export-oriented industries.
Highlighting the growing importance of IT and digital exports, he said Pakistan possesses immense human capital that can be transformed into export earnings through supportive policies, technology parks, and public–private partnerships. He also underscored the importance of trade diplomacy to explore new markets in Africa, Central Asia, and ASEAN countries.
Concluding, the ICCI President emphasized that policy stability, ease of doing business, and strong support for SMEs are critical for sustainable export growth. He urged close coordination between the government and the private sector to implement a focused export-led strategy, expressing confidence that such an approach would reduce the trade deficit, create jobs, and strengthen Pakistan’s economic resilience.
