Government pursuing ‘Make in Pakistan’ policy: PM

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday declared that the government was vigorously pursuing “Make in Pakistan” policy to promote export-oriented industrialisation in the country.

He observed that the government’s efforts during the last two years had been to further this objective through various interventions particularly in ease of doing business.

The premier expressed these views in a meeting with a delegation of leading exporters from various sectors, including poultry, rice, fruits, information technology, pharmaceuticals and textiles, who called on him on Wednesday.

Acknowledging the critical role of exports in the national economy, including job creation and employment of youth in the country, PM Imran said that the government was committed to extend all possible facilitation to the exporters and remove all impediments in the way to enhancing country’s exports both in goods as well as services.

He emphasised on the need for a greater focus on capitalising the country’s potential in services exports with greater facilitation and provision of an enabling environment.

The premier expressed satisfaction that the country’s economy was moving in the right direction as it had recorded a current account surplus in July 2020 and had been constantly growing in exports after a global slump caused by Covid-19 pandemic.

In order to promote the process of industrialisation and to make the domestic products competitive, the government had either eliminated or significantly reduced duties on hundreds of tariff lines involving raw material for the local industry, he noted.

He pointed out that the system of refunds had been streamlined to resolve liquidity issues of the exporters and industrialists.

The prime minister reiterated that the growth momentum in exports could only be maintained through increased focus on the products and geographical diversification.

The official statement said that the exporters appreciated various policy initiatives of the government and also presented various suggestions to increase country’s exports in their respective areas.

Minister for Industries Hammad Azhar, Finance Adviser Dr Abdul Hafeez Sheikh and Adviser on Commerce and Investment Abdul Razak Dawood also attended the meeting.

On August 4, the cabinet was told that Pakistan’s exports had increased by 5.8% as compared to the previous year in July 2020.

Due to the coronavirus, it emerged that the country’s exports fell by 6% in June, 34% in May and 57% in April.

Comparing with other regional countries, the cabinet was informed that Bangladesh's exports had declined by 17% in July, while India's by 4%.

Earlier, PM Imran had congratulated the nation in a tweet, saying there was an upturn in the economy after a struggle of two years.

The premier said the current account and fiscal deficits were down and the construction industry and the job creation through it was taking off because of the government’s special incentives.

He said the stock market, exports and revenues, cement as well as car sales had gone up despite the pandemic and global lockdown.