Pak-China Business and Investment Forum launch: PM stresses on export enhancement

Prime Minister Imran Khan has stressed on increasing Pakistan's exports, saying that no country could progress without industrialisation.

PM Imran, in his keynote address during the launch of the Pak-China Business and Investment Forum on Monday, said that the forum would help improve the ease of doing business.

He said that the launch of the business forum is important “because the government needs your feedback, to know the difficulties businesses face in enhancing the trade”.

The forum consists of 18 Chinese and 19 Pakistani companies and is launched with the objective of promoting investment between the two countries.

“For an investor, time is money, and the amount of time lost is a disincentive to invest in a country. Therefore, we are trying to eliminate regulations, which delay investment in order to facilitate businesses and investment,” the PM said.

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Talking on Pakistan's export base, Khan admitted that it is '‘painful’' to see that the country struggles to enhance it when compared to other countries with smaller economies. “How can a country move forward, if it doesn’t export,” he said.

“We are still exporting items such as vegetables, this is not going to increase the country’s wealth,” he said. “The country will only move forward if it industrialises.”

Talking about the IT sector, Khan said that Pakistan was left behind in this field as well. However, with minimal incentives the IT sector has doubled its exports in a span of a year, he said.

Despite improvement in export figures, Pakistan struggles with a widening trade gap as import bill balloons.

Pakistan’s trade deficit touched $25 billion during first half (July - December) of fiscal year 2021-22 as compared to $12.363 billon in corresponding period of 2020-21.

As per initial foreign trade figures, total imports stood at $39.912 billion during first six months of FY 2021-22 whereas exports were $15.125 billion, showing a difference of almost $25 billion.

Jul-Dec 2021: Trade deficit touches $25bn mark

Meanwhile, stressing on improving trade ties with China, PM stated, “We have a huge advantage in having the fastest growing economy in the world as our neighbour, who is ready to cooperate with us on all fronts.”

The prime minister lauded his government for its efforts against curbing the spread of Covid-19, saying that we should take pride in how we countered the pandemic.

“We will now industrialise ourselves, enhance our exports, and take all measures to curb the outflow of dollars including import substitution, curbing money-laundering and promote the second phase of CPEC, through business-to-business interactions,” Khan said.

The PM also emphasised improving the agriculture output of the country, saying that the country can learn urban planning from China. He further said that he has a trip to China coming up next week where he will discuss Covid-19 and urban planning.