Senior Minister for Industries and Defence Production, Chaudhry Parvez Elahi has instructed the officials of the Ministry to reconstitute the Board of Directors and Chairman of Pakistan Gems and Jewellery Development Company (PGJDC) within one week in consultation with all the stakeholders.
The minister said that it was essential to operationalise the company in order to channelise it for a full-fledged functional entity. Talking to the officials of the Ministry on Wednesday, Chaudhry Elahi stressed on taking immediate measures regarding the decisions taken during the meeting that was held on Monday, 17th May, 2011 in Islamabad.
Ministry of Industries aims at facilitating PGJDC for exploiting natural resources of Pakistan, said senior minister. "Pakistan has rich resources of gems and stones and we need to come up with innovative strategy for proper utilisation of the resources," he observed. The minister held a meeting with a delegation of (PGJDC). Senator Semeen Yusuf Siddiqui also attended the meeting. The delegates apprised the minister of the objectives and functioning of the company.
The delegates were of the view that Pakistan had more deposits of stones than India. According to the participating delegates, the gem and stones industry has huge potential and scope for exports. However, certain issues were also raised during the meeting including the constitution of a new Board of Directors and its Chairman.
In this regard, another meeting would be held after two weeks to monitor progress. Moreover, the minister emphasised on holding geological surveys for exploring the resources on regular basis. Besides, training programmes for mine workers and workers of gem industry needed to be undertaken regularly, he added.
The delegation included: Khalid Sultan Khawaja, Representative of Pakistan Commerce Exporters Association of Precious Stones; Mazhar Saeed Mazhar, Rep. of Gems Merchants & Jewellas Association; Matiullah Shaikh, Ex-Chairman PGJDC, Asad ur Rehman Sheikh, Ex-Board member and Mr Shafi Choksi, Ex-Director. From the side of Ministry, Secretary Aziz Ahmad Bilour and Additonal Secretary Agha Nadeem along with other high officials attended the meeting.-PR