FPCCI calls for stronger trade diplomacy to boost exports

KARACHI: Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FPCCI) officials on Monday briefed personnel from the Foreign Service of Pakistan (FSP) about macroeconomic challenges, export promotion needs of the business community, trade diplomacy, and the branding of Pakistan’s export offerings on a global scale.

Atif Ikram Sheikh, president of the FPCCI, told the FSP delegation about the need to prioritise IT and IT-enabled services, value-added agricultural produce, processed foods, the blue economy and infrastructure, processed minerals and chemicals, and the export of skilled labour to strengthen Pakistan’s economic, investment and trade relations.

The FPCCI’s Senior Vice President Saquib Fayyaz Magoon stressed that foreign service representatives and Pakistan’s trade and investment officers should act as the country’s ‘salespeople’, positioning Pakistan as a strong brand in export markets. “We should aim for geographically diverse, multi-sectoral export promotion, coupled with industrialisation and import substitution,” he added.

The senior vice president also outlined the FPCCI’s Vision 2030, with a target of achieving $100 billion in exports as the primary goal. “This is achievable, and we need support from the foreign office as well as from Pakistan’s embassies and consulates worldwide to promote single-country, regional, and international exhibitions,” he said. Magoon highlighted the FPCCI’s recent recognition of the top 20 companies in Pakistan across 20 industries under the theme ‘One Sector, One Winner’. The awards, known as the FPCCI Excellence Awards, were presented by the president of Pakistan. “In total, we have identified 72 industries, and we will soon recognise top performers in the remaining sectors,” he added.