I congratulate the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry for organising the Exports Awards Ceremony 2015, in keeping with their annual tradition, to acknowledge and appreciate the contribution of Pakistani exporters to the national economy.
The FPCCI export awards are recognised, with good reason, by consumers as seals of quality assurance. More importantly, these awards promote healthy competition among exporters and encourage them to strive harder for professional excellence. The award distribution ceremony itself provides a good opportunity to exporters to exchange ideas, analyse emerging trends in world markets, and devise innovative strategies for the promotion of their exports - to which the government accords very high priority.
I would like to emphasise here the need to expand public-private partnerships to consolidate our foothold in existing markets, and at the same time, to find new avenues for the promotion of exports, and to, thus, increase our foreign exchange earnings. The government has provided several incentives to exporters, and would continue to do so in future as well, so as to encourage them to achieve ever higher export levels. On the other hand, the GSP Plus status given to Pakistan by the European Union - for which the government had to make intense effort - is a golden opportunity for exporters to capitalise on. The trading community must do its very best to raise Pakistan's exports of both traditional and non-traditional products in conventional and new markets, for which we have vast potential.
Once again, I commend the management and members of FPCCI for organising this event. I also felicitate all award winners on their performance during the year 2014-15, and hope that the business community will continue to work hard for the progress and prosperity of Pakistan.