Major General Shahid Iqbal, Chief Instructor (War Wing), National Defence College, has urged the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) to play its due role for the development of infrastructure in the country, as it is a pre-requisite to cope with the fast emerging global challenges on the economic front.
Major General Shahid Iqbal, who was heading an 84-member delegation, was speaking at LCCI on Friday. LCCI President Shahid Hassan Sheikh, Senior Vice President Yaqoob Tahir Izhar and Vice President Mubasher Sheikh were also present on the occasion.
He also called for exploring non-traditional markets to generate much-needed foreign exchange. He said that the economy has become the most modern warfare gadget of the present day world and the only economically stronger country would be the leading global player in coming days.
Speaking on the occasion, LCCI President Shahid Hassan Sheikh said that the Lahore Chamber acted as a bridge between the government and the business community. It also tries to secure a business-friendly environment through sharing views with the government," he added.
He, however, said that there are a few issues that must be tackled on priority basis; the biggest one is how to keep the momentum of growth in the wake of a less than targeted growth of the agriculture and the manufacturing sectors in the last few years.
The second one is the widening gap between exports and imports that could be contained by reducing import of luxury items, he added. LCCI Senior Vice President Yaqoob Tahir Izhar said that the frequent increases in the prices of energy are making Pakistani products not competitive in the international market and Pakistan is loosing the international markets to China, India and even Bangladesh.
Although the oil prices were linked to international prices of oil, the benefit of decline in oil prices has not been passed on to the consumers for quite a long time, he added. LCCI Vice President Mubasher Sheikh stressed the need for developing regional, product specific and target oriented marketing strategy. New markets and new products need to be explored to reduce country's dependence on few commodities and countries, he added.