‘Public-private partnership to help overcome economic challenges’

LAHORE: Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) President Sheikh Muhammad Arshad has said that the solution of economic challenges lie in strengthening of public-private partnership.
Talking to the delegations of Auto Air-conditioning Association of Pakistan led by Malik Muhammad Nadeem, Pakistan Auto & Spare Parts Importers & Distribution Association (PASPIDA), Homoeopathic Association led by Saif-ur-Rehman and Hamza Bukhari, All Pakistan Paper Merchants Association (APPMA) led by Senior Vice Chairman Khamis Saeed Butt and All Pakistan Cottage Industry & Small Traders led by Ghulam Sarwar Malik, he said that strong public-private partnership can help surmount economic challenges being faced by the country.
He said that the Lahore Chamber aims to promote trade and investment in the country by enacting the policies of the government and securing a business-friendly environment.
He stressed the need for developing regional, product-specific and target-oriented marketing strategy.
New markets and new products need to be explored to reduce the country’s dependence on a few commodities and countries, he said.
Briefing the participants about the LCCI’s role in the policy making, Arshad said that the LCCI is going to establish more than 100 sector-specific standing committees. These committees would collect private sector feedback and analyse and filter the same through experts.
LCCI Senior Vice President Almas Haider and Vice President Nasir Saeed said that the chamber monitors the budget, identify anomalies and these coupled with revised proposals are again communicated to the relevant policy making departments.
They said that the LCCI also keeps liaison with foreign missions commercial sections and an exchange of information was ensured, especially sector reports.
They also called for the exploration of non-traditional markets to generate the much-needed foreign exchange.
The economy has become the most modern warfare gadget of the present day world and the only economically strong countries would have a role in the coming days, they said.
Lauding the role being played by the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry in removing the bottlenecks in the way of promotion of business, they said that a lot has yet to be done for the economic well-being of the country and its people.