LAHORE: President of the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) Sheikh Muhammad Arshad has said that secret of economic progress and prosperity lies in strengthening of institutions, consistency in policies and public-private partnership.
LCCI President was talking to the 110-participant of National Security & War Course 2016 from National Defence University on Tuesday. The LCCI Senior Vice President Almas Hyder, Vice President Nasir Saeed and Executive Committee Members also spoke on the occasion. LCCI office-bearers spoke at length on various economic issues and also threw light on the ways and means to tackle the internal and external economic challenges being faced by the country.
Sheikh Muhammad Arshad said that no country around the globe can every achieve its aims and objectives until and unless it has a strong system backed by strong institutions as weak institutions bound to expose a country or a state to all types of problems including economic and social.
“Strong institutional framework ensures business friendly atmosphere, encourages local investors to put their money in new ventures and also brings much-needed foreign investment in the country, the LCCI President said.
Giving a detailed briefing on LCCI role in policy making, the LCCI President said that the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry is not only working as bridge between the government and business community but is also playing its due role for promotion of trade and industry in the country.
LCCI has more than 100 sector-specific Standing Committees. These committees collect private sector feedback, analyze and after a thorough debate it is forwarded to the concerned government departments for consideration at the time of preparation of the Federal Budget. He said that Chamber monitors the budget, anomalies are identified and these coupled with revised proposals are again communicated to the relevant policy making departments. He said that the LCCI also keeps liaison with the commercial sections of the Foreign missions and an exchange of information is ensured.
The LCCI Senior Vice President Almas Hyder said answered various questions of the participants. The questions ranged from domestic trade to international economic scenario. They also asked about trade with India and Chambers role in promotion of modern business techniques and capacity building of its members.
The LCCI Vice President Nasir Saeed said that the LCCI is also quite conscious of its Corporate Social Responsibility. It has two self-sustaining projects; Shalimar Hospital and LABARD on its credit. The Shalimar Hospital is providing modern health facilities to the common people while LABARD is not only acting as placement body for the disabled persons of the society but also provides relevant training to the young minds in an effort to rehabilitate them.
In his address, the head of the delegation, lauded the role of LCCI for keeping the country’s economy on right track. He said that it is the private sector which plays a decisive role for the economic boost of any country. He said that the LCCI is doing a real service by projecting a positive image of the economy of the country.
