A truck drives along the China-Pakistan Friendship Highway before the Karakorum mountain range near Tashkurgan in China's western Xinjiang province. PHOTO: AFP
MULTAN: Commissioner Multan Bilal Ahmed Butt said that the significance of Multan has increased with the arrival of CPEC projects as it produced 70 to 80 per cent of total cotton and our 65 per cent exports depended on the agricultural produce.
He was delivering his speech at a function organised by Multan Chamber to highlight unity among diversity under the title of "Is Parcham kay sai talay ham sab aik hain". It was attended by the Sikhs, Hindus, Christians, Parsis and Muslims of the area.
Commissioner said that China-Pak Economic Corridor (CPEC) was a golden opportunity for the overall development of the region thus we should reorganise the agriculture sector to get a major share from $100 billion imports of agriculture produce by China. He said that cotton production would have to increase to 25 million bales which was stagnant to 12.6 bales to meet the demand of local textile industry.
He stressed the need to encourage the small and medium enterprises (SMEs). He was optimistic that Multan would be the biggest trade centre in future. Foreign entrepreneurs were exploring markets and joint venture projects in this area. Foreign ambassadors were visiting southern Punjab frequently for investment in different fields. He said that significance and importance of Multan Chamber had also increased with the rapidly changing business scenario.
Multan Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Khawaja Jalaluddin Roomi said that our programme had focussed on the freedom movement, heroes of the Pakistan Movement and the rich culture and traditions of Pakistan through performing arts. Besides depicting the culture and traditions of the country, such shows educated the youth regarding the struggle of freedom fighters through soft expressions of art, he added.
He threw light on the achievements of Multan chamber regarding promotion of culture, literature and art in this zone and provision of a platform to skilled people.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 20th, 2017.
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