Governor Punjab, Lieutenant General Khalid Maqbool (Retd), has called for promoting Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to generate more job opportunities for the skilled youth.
Addressing a conference on "SME Development - The way forward" organised by the Small and Medium Enterprise Development Authority (Smeda) here on Wednesday, the Governor said that increased volume of low cost loans and services for the SME sector can help accelerate the industrialisation process in the country.
The Federal Minister for Industries, Liaquat Ali Jatoi presided while among others, Punjab Industries Minister Ajmal Cheema, Federal Secretary Industries, Javed Ashraf, Smeda CEO Shahab Khawaja, Chairman Pakistan Horticulture Development and Export Board Afaq Tiwana spoke on the occasion.
Khalid asked the government departments to extend a helping hand to the SMEs to make its products more competitive world over.
He was of the view that there were ample opportunities of creating thousands of jobs in different sectors such as textile especially made-ups where potential of creating around three million jobs exist, he added.
Highlighting the Punjab government efforts for industrialisation, he said that a 'Textile City' was being developed at Sundar near Lahore and hopefully it would increase production base of the garments in Pakistan besides providing jobs.
While in textile sector, he underscored the need for exploiting opportunities in sowing off-season vegetables through use of latest technology.
He said that transport, health and education sectors could also be lucrative business, hence potential exists in these sectors needs to be exploited.
He said that all the commercial banks, in addition to Zarai Taraqiati Bank were now extending huge loans to the agriculture sector.
Speaking on the occasion, Federal Minister for Industries and Production, Liaquat Ali Jatoi called for looking ways and means to bring down the cost of doing business in the country so as to make our exports more competitive in the international market.
He was of the view that permission to all the export-oriented industrial units for power generation for their own requirements would result in bringing down the power cost.
He hoped that proposal regarding setting up 'Investment Facilitation Desks' would be placed before the upcoming ECC meeting for approval.
He said that the Smeda had been re-organised to make it more helpful for the SMEs.
Punjab Minister for Industries, Commerce and Investment, Muhammad Ajmal Cheema, urged the Pakistani businessmen to take advantage of the ever-flourishing 99 percent stores business in the West including the United States. He said that existing industrial estates in the Punjab province were being upgraded including of Multan and Lahore.
He said that a piece of land sprawling over 1,500 acres had been acquired at Sundar near Lahore for the development of a 'Textile City', an industrial estate and export processing zone.
Federal Secretary Industries, Javed Ashraf said on the occasion that SMEs, besides economic development also help generation of more employment opportunities.
Accurate use of resources in the society is also linked with small and medium size business that is why Pakistan and other developing countries are attaching due importance towards promotion of SME sector, he observed.