LAHORE: Punjab Minister of Industries, Trade, and Energy SM Tanveer held a meeting Friday with a delegation from the Surgical Instruments Manufacturers Association (SIMA) at the TEVTA Secretariat.

The delegation led by Chairman Council for Surgical Instruments Yusuf Hasan Bajwa discussed various important matters including the establishment of a surgical city in Sialkot, boosting surgical instrument exports, and taxation issues. During the meeting, the delegation emphasized the need for the association to be included in the planning process concerning the surgical industry.

Highlighting the tremendous potential for increasing surgical instrument exports, the minister expressed the government’s commitment to collaborate with the association to achieve an annual export target of one billion dollars for surgical goods.

He also issued directives to expedite the implementation of the surgical city project in Sialkot and announced the construction of a state-of-the-art laboratory dedicated to surgical instruments in the same city. Stressing the urgency of the lab project, he assured that it would be completed on a priority basis. Additionally, he pledged to approach the federal government to address the tax-related challenges faced by the surgical industry.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023