World Bank official advises government to focus on increasing export

World Bank Consultant Marcos Griffin on Wednesday said that the Pakistani government should focus on increasing the exports of various products rather than focusing on specific export promotion programs, otherwise a balance of payment issue might become a concern in the future due to repatriation of profits from the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI's).
He was addressing the investment conference organised by the Punjab Board of Investment and Trade (PBIT) in collaboration with the World Bank. Young Consultant Areeb Pasha, representatives of Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) and a large number of private sector representatives were present on this occasion. Griffin applauded the efforts being taken by the Pakistan government to carryout welfare projects and increasing tax collection base.
Haroon Shaukat, Chief Executive Officer of the Punjab Board of Investment and Trade, said, "In our quest to unlock country's potential, we are bringing in local and international investors for one-on-one consultations with local businesspeople. This approach is effective in addressing business and investment challenges in country's economy," he said. He said that the Punjab Growth Strategy sets a target of doubling Punjab's GDP growth rate by 2018 (from 3.5 to 7.0%) to absorb the one million people entering the workforce every year. The PBIT is proudly contributing to the achievement of national development goals such as job creation, sector development, technology transfer, skill development, and market connectivity.
The implementation of a sound, impact-oriented, stakeholder-informed strategy is important to an IPA's effectiveness. The strategy aims to develop framework that stimulates private sector investments as a sustainable process for growth, he said.
It was also emphasised in the conference that the government should explore, set up and expand different branches of chambers of commerce in different countries to help boost exports. On top of this, as IT industry in Pakistan is doing really well, the IT sector should be promoted internationally by the government to bring in foreign revenue.