PM directs level playing field for local industries

ISLAMABAD/MINSK: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday directed the authorities concerned to provide a level-playing field for local industries and incorporate the proposals of industrial and trade bodies into the upcoming federal budget.

The prime minister, chairing a review meeting on the Export Facilitation Scheme (EFS) here directed the committee to finalise its interim recommendations after further consultations and present the report soon.

During the meeting, interim recommendations of the committee formed to make the scheme more effective and benefitting the export sector were presented.

During the briefing, it was told that the scheme was launched to reduce production costs and enhance the competitiveness of national exports in global markets.

Meanwhile, the prime minister arrived Minsk on a two-day official visit to Belarus at the invitation of President Aleksandr Lukashenko. Belarus Prime Minister Alexander Turchin and officials of Pakistan embassy in Minsk warmly welcomed Shehbaz.

PM Shehbaz was accompanied by a high-level delegation comprising Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Information and Broadcasting Minister Attaullah Tarar and Special Assistant Tariq Fatemi.

Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko hosted a dinner in honour of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and PMLN President Nawaz Sharif at his farmhouse, says a PMO press release. Among those who attended the dinner were Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz and Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar. Prime Minister thanked President Lukashenko for the warm welcome and hospitality.

Meanwhile, PM Shehbaz paid tribute to Pakistani player Noor Zaman for winning the Under-23 World Squash Championship. In a statement, the prime minister felicitated the entire nation on Noor Zaman’s success. Prime Minister Shehbaz said Noor Zaman had made Pakistan’s name known all over the world with his game and the entire nation was proud of him. “Inshallah, Pakistan will regain its lost position in the field of squash,” the prime minister said.