LAHORE: Moazzam Ghurki, President Pakistan China Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCJCCI) has emphasized upon equitable development of SMEs in rural areas of the country in conjunction with the urban business hubs on Chinese model of Urban-Rural Coordinated Development.

While addressing the think-tank meeting at PCJCCI Secretariat he told that Pakistan shared that China had enhanced the prosperity level of her villages by making coordinated urban and rural development.

The meeting was also attended by Fang Yulong, Senior Vice President, Hamza Khalid, Vice President and Salahuddin Hanif, Secretary General of the PCJCCI.

PCJCCI President informed that SMEDA had focused in the past on equitable development of SMEs in the country and the best project in this regard was launched as “Aik Hunar, Aik Nagar” (AHAN) project that connected the rural handicrafts with the fashion designers to add value in the rural hand-made products.

The intervention proved to be so successful that a number of our rural handicrafts won the space in export market besides gaining business in the national markets. He lamented the project could not have won the attention of the current government and had, there for pushed to the back benches.

Fang Yulong, Senior Vice President PCJCCI said that common prosperity is an essential requirement of socialism and a key feature of Chinese-style modernization, aims to create a future where prosperity is shared by everyone in the country.

Efforts to achieve the goal include promoting common prosperity among farmers in rural areas, consolidating and expanding achievements in poverty elimination, and advancing rural vitalization on all fronts, he added.

Hamza Khalid, Vice President and Salahuddin Hanif, Secretary General also shared their views on the subject. They said that economic development should be prime agenda of the government, which can only be attended by promoting SMEs in the rural areas at par with the urban business hubs.

They suggested studying the Chinese model implemented in the village Pushan of eastern China’s province Zegiang, where the income of rural population has been increased manifold within two years.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023