ISLAMABAD: President Dr. Arif Alvi has said that vibrant presence of logistics sector can play a key role in inclusive national growth by making economic dividends accessible to large segment.

He said this while inaugurating Pakistan’s first Multimodal Logistics Conference here on Thursday.

The conference with theme of “Trade Growth of Pakistan through Multimodal Logistics” was organized by Manzil Pakistan, a Karachi-based think tank in collaboration with All Pakistan Shipping Association (APSA) while U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Pakistan International Bulk Terminal (PIBT), JS Bank and Faysal Bank Ltd contributed as partner in conference.

The President lauded the organizers for taking this initiative to highlight the importance of logistics sector in national trade and economic growth. He said, a modern and technology-based logistics and freight system is one of the basic ingredients to achieve desired economic growth by leveraging accessibility. Pakistan’s regional connectivity is poised with tremendous potential due to its geo-strategic location, he said.

Addressing the inaugural session, Asim A. Siddiqui, Vice Chairman of Manzil Pakistan shared the theme and concept of the conference with the audience.

He said that Pakistan eagerly needs a thematic change and complete remodelling to integrate the multimodal logistics scenario in its stepping forward economy. He further emphasized that despite having a National Freight and Logistics Policy (NFLP) in place, the sector is still fragmented and policies in relation to its integration require considerable deliberation by public authorities; therefore, Manzil Pakistan has taken the lead to organize this conference to bring all stakeholders both from the private sector and public authorities to initiate a public policy debate to benefit the country.

The conference featured panel discussions and specialized sessions, on different sectors of the trade transport industry. A panel discussion “Public-Private Sector Institutional Harmony for Integrated Multimodal logistics in Pakistan” was chaired by Dr. Ishrat Hussain, former Advisor to the Prime Minister on institutional Reforms & Austerity and Ex-Governor State Bank of Pakistan.

Keeping in view the importance of China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), regional connectivity for the future of domestic commerce and foreign investments in Pakistan was discussed in an exclusive session “CPEC, Regional Connectivity for Trade & Domestic Commerce”.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022