KP-Board of Investment & Trade webinar: Special assistant says Rashakai Economic Zone to industrialise KP

PESHAWAR: Special Assistant to Chief Minister on Industries and Commerce, Abdul Karim Khan, said on Friday the recent agreement to develop Rashakai Economic Zone would lead to industrialization in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

He was speaking at an online dialogue titled “Branding Pakistan a better place for investment: Exploring KP’s investment opportunities”. The programme was organized by KP-Board of Investment and Trade. Abdul Karim Khan was the keynote speaker at the webinar. The session was moderated by Hassan Daud Butt, Chief Executive Officer of KP-Board of Investment and Trade. The special assistant hoped the special economic zone would create a business environment for attracting direct foreign investment and relocation of the high-tech industry from China, paving the way for technology transfer.

Additionally, he said, Rashakai Economic Zone would play a vital role in boosting our exports and strengthening import substitution, which would ensure human and economic development. Other speakers of the session were Naghmana Hashmi, a former ambassador of Pakistan to China, Professor Bari Malik, Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, a member of the Institute of Physics (MInstP), UK, Mustafa Hyder, Executive Director, Pakistan- China Institute, Hassan Khawar, consultant journalist, Team Leader DFID’s SEED Project, Charles Schneider, senior private sector specialist, International Finance Corporation, World Bank Group, LV Yan, DGM, CRBC Zarak Khattak, CEO, FF Steel.

Earlier, Hassan Daud started the session by giving a brief overview of the priority investment sectors in KP and the priorities and initiatives taken by the government of KP for creating the enabling environment for investors. All the speakers of the webinar shared views on how local and international investors could be attracted and what facilities need to be provided for that. Hassan Daud in his closing remarks maintained that the session was very fruitful and rewarding and KPBOIT would have a series of such sessions in the future as well. He thanked all the speakers and requested them to be KPBoIT’s ambassadors of change to make the province a preferred destination for investment.

Associate degrees launched to replace BA/BSc

The Competent Authority on Friday notified the launching of two years Associate Degree (Both Terminal Degree and Exit from BS) in all the colleges of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with effect from academic session 2020.

All affiliating universities were asked to work out a uniform structure for both the degrees in terms of admissions, courses, credits, transfer of credits mode of evaluation promotion and pathway to further education before the start of the Fall Semester 2020. The existing status of government colleges affiliated for BA/BSc programmes will be switched over to the corresponding Associate Degree (Arts)/ Associate Degree (Science) by default. It was notified by the Higher Education Department, Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, said an official handout.