PM Shehbaz says SMEs backbone of economy

LAHORE: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has said that small and medium-scale businesses are the backbone of the country’s economy.

He said this while presiding over a meeting for promoting small and medium-scale businesses and related to the Small Medium Enterprises Development Authority (SMEDA) here on Saturday.

He said the incumbent government was taking all possible measures to provide facilities to small and big scale businesses.

‘Majority of SMEs have no access to formal financing’

Shehbaz Sharif said that all-out efforts were required to make industries of Pakistan a part of global supply chain.

He said the centre and all provinces should work together for development of small and medium enterprises.

The meeting gave briefing about the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority’s performance.

The meeting told that the SMEDA board had been formed as per the direction of the prime minister and meeting of its board of directors were being held regularly.

A process had been started to get services of international experts for development of the SMEs sector.

The chief secretaries of Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu Kashmir had been included in the SMEs sector steering committee.

The State Bank of Pakistan had issued directions to banks to make forms easy and simple for giving loans to SMEs.

The meeting told that the Ministry of Industries and Production had improved liaison with provincial governments for development of SMEs. Sindh and Balochistan governments had prepared a comprehensive strategy for SMEs while governments of Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit Baltistan and Azad Jammu Kashmir were making strategies in this regard.

The meeting further told that as per the direction of the prime minister the data of SMEs in the country was being collected.

The meeting was attended by Federal Minister for Industries and Production Rana Tanveer Hussain and other officers.