Businessmen for direct trade with India

Islamabad : Kashif Anwar, President of Lahore Chamber of Commerce & Industry, has said that at a time when the national market lacks alternative raw materials for industries, it is very important to re-initiate direct trade with India to reduce cost of imports from India arriving via Dubai.

Mr Anwar was speaking at a webinar on “Challenges facing Pakistan's economy - private sector's perspectives” organised here by Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI.

Mr Anwar urged the government to adopt a charter of economy to design and guide long-term policy as a first step augmented with short-term policy interventions amidst the current economic crisis. He said that amid the threat of increase in utility prices, the government needs to prioritise increase in exports and reduction in imports by industrial substitution of import items to meet the market demand. He emphasised that preventing disruption of supply chain of raw materials for industries is a crucial element in increasing exports, which is currently being undermined by restriction on imports.

Dr Vaqar Ahmed, Joint Executive Director, SDPI, said that policy-makers must deliberate upon and initiate host of short and long-term measures to stabilise the macro-economic situation and address structural issues identified by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Dr Shehla Javed Akram, the Founder of Lahore Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry, reiterated that supply chain disruption of pharmaceutical industries is exacerbating the challenges of this sector. She pointed out that the country lags behind in terms of sector-specific policies compared to India and other western countries.