IPO-Pakistan to play key role in CPEC

ISLAMABAD: Parliamentary Secretary for Commerce Shaza Fatima Khawaja Thursday said Intellectual Property Organization (IPO-Pakistan) would become one of the most important institutions once China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) would become fully functional.

She expressed these views during a special briefing given by the officials of IPO-Pakistan regarding working of the organization, its mechanism, achievements and future plans, a press release said.

“CPEC would open new avenues of foreign investments in the country and a number of foreign companies will establish their operations in Pakistan. They will need support of IPO-Pakistan to protect their Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs)”, she said.

Appreciating the performance of IPO-Pakistan she assured Ministry of Commerce’s unflinching support to the organization.

She stressed that the organization should intensify its efforts to create awareness about IPRs among the masses.

“IPO-Pakistan is doing a wonderful work in such a short time since its emergence but still there is a long way to go,” she said.

About the proposed laws of IPO-Pakistan, Shaza maintained that enactment of Geographical Indications (GI) Law would be expedited.

Earlier, while briefing the parliamentary secretary, Director (Enforcement) IPO-Pakistan, Muhammad Ismail informed about the working of the organization since its inception.

He informed that due to a number of initiatives of the organization in the past years, the US government had removed Pakistan from the priority watch list and its ranking had also improved. In the latest survey published by World Economic Forum, it had won appreciation from national and international organizations.