ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister’s Coordinator on Commerce and Industries Rana Ihsaan Afzal Khan has said that efforts were underway to increase Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) financing from Rs1 trillion to Rs2 trillion, while exporters were being supported through concessional financing arrangements involving EXIM Bank and commercial banks.
Addressing the closing ceremony of the 39th Annual General Meeting and International Conference of the Pakistan Society of Development Economists (PSDE), organized at the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE) here on Friday, he said Pakistan was moving towards an export-oriented economy to overcome recurring economic challenges and ensure sustainable growth.
Highlighting key initiatives, he said the National Tariff Policy 2025–30 aimed to rationalise duties across approximately 7,500 tariff lines, gradually eliminate regulatory and additional customs duties, and reduce the maximum customs duty to 15 percent to improve industrial competitiveness. He said the government was reviewing approximately 500 regulatory requirements and removing unnecessary certification and inspection procedures under the Export Policy Order to facilitate businesses.
Rana Ihsaan said the Prime Minister had approved a Trade Facilitation Board to improve coordination among government agencies, streamline export logistics and reduce port-related costs. He named ICT, artificial intelligence, agriculture, minerals and the blue economy as the key drivers of export diversification.
Researchers stressed the need for fast-tracking structural reforms, cut trade-related costs and broaden its export base to achieve sustainable, export-led growth. The conference put forward six reform priorities: sustaining URAAN Pakistan beyond political cycles; tariff reform and strategic free trade agreements; rationalising logistics oversight and strengthening the Pakistan Single Window and Corridor Export Coordination Cells; safeguarding investors through adequate foreign exchange reserves, risk-hedging and simpler regulation; upgrading exporters through export-oriented investment and SME clusters; and building new growth engines in AI-enabled agriculture, ICT, the blue economy, tourism and creative industries. Better Single Window integration and corridor coordination alone could lower trade costs by 10–14 per cent, while some 5,000 new SMEs could add USD2.5 billion in exports.
PIDE underscored that policy continuity, public trust, trade-specific skills, reliable energy and predictable tax and customs regimes were key to sustained investment. Cheap labour and tax breaks alone, they cautioned, cannot secure long-term competitiveness.
During the session experts examined digital trade, port digitalisation, sustainable fisheries and Blue Bonds, and overseas labour mobility matched to verified international demand. Researchers linked tourism growth to strong institutions and the rule of law, and proposed a Music Export Council and a National Music Export Fund to boost creative exports.
Presenting the key takeaways from the conference proceedings, Dr Faheem Jehangir, Dean (Policy), PIDE, and Secretary, PSDE, pointed to a stark imbalance: Pakistan’s GDP has doubled over the past 15 years while exports have barely moved. He attributed this to protection-oriented incentives, policy discontinuity and political uncertainty, weak investor confidence and only a few strategic trade agreements, high logistics and border costs, and a narrow export base.
Dr Nadeem Javaid, Vice Chancellor PIDE and President PSDE, said export-led growth was vital to Pakistan’s economic stability, calling for a shift from managing scarcity to creating wealth through productivity and innovation. He urged policymakers to translate the conference’s findings into practical policy and encouraged young scholars to pursue policy-relevant research. Thanking GIZ, the Asian Development Bank, the Higher Education Commission, Quaid-Azam University and international experts and the PIDE team for their support amid austerity constraints, he formally declared the conference closed.
The proposals emerging from its deliberations will be shared with policymakers and relevant development stakeholders to help shape an enabling environment for achieving the goal of US$100 billion in exports by 2035. Central to the conference’s success was the enthusiastic engagement of participants, who kept the halls packed throughout the two days, reflecting strong interest in shaping Pakistan’s economic future.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026