‘Covid-19 an opportunity to reshape business models’

PM aide calls for innovation to explore these opportunities

ISLAMABAD: The Covid-19 pandemic has brought about a change across the globe and also affected the economy negatively, said Adviser to PM on Commerce Abdul Razak Dawood.

Chairing a meeting of the Ministry of Commerce’s Think Tank on Covid-19, he pointed out that the situation was also an opportunity to reshape business models.

The adviser further stressed the need to be innovative both domestically and internationally to explore these opportunities. “This is imperative not only to sustain our share in traditional markets and products but also to explore new avenues especially in the services sectors,” Dawood said.

He highlighted that the present government was not only focusing on the core export sectors but was also facilitating emerging sectors of the economy.

He said that diversification, economies of scales, competitiveness, technology upgrade, tariff rationalisation, and encouraging domestic and international investment were the government’s prime focus. The industry will see major policy initiatives in the upcoming budget, the adviser added.

The adviser said that Pakistan needed innovative approaches for rapid growth by increasing its share in international as well as domestic markets.

During the meeting, the industry representatives acknowledged the steps taken by the government in the last one and a half year which had started bearing fruit prior to the disruption created by the Covid-19 crisis.

Meeting participants proposed that the facilitation measures for decreasing the cost of doing business should be accompanied with steps to address the liquidity issues of the industry, especially the export sector. 

Published in The Express Tribune, May 30^th, 2020.

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