Chairman Senate Mian Raza Rabbani on Tuesday said that heavy reliance on foreign borrowings is tantamount to compromise the sovereignty of the country. Addressing the '41st Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) Export Awards,' at a hotel, Rabbani said as long as the country is dependent upon foreign borrowing and aid, it would not be able to devise policies to run its affairs, independently.
"There is no free lunch. We have to give away a portion of our sovereignty as payback for the loans and also continue to take dictation from international finance institutions, and countries due to debts we take from them," he said, adding that it is painful situation for a sovereign state such as Pakistan to take dictation from other countries.
Rabbani urged the government to support traders and investors to promote business and to explore indigenous industries with a vision to strengthen the country's economy. "We should learn from the countries such Japan, China, and Vietnam as how they managed to cope with their challenges after wars and emerged as top economies of the world within a short span of time," he said, adding that the only reason behind that was the fact that they believed in themselves.
In his welcome address, FPCCI president Zubair F Tufail said the country is facing various economic issues. He said trade deficit of the country is widening as its imports have soared up to $60 billion whereas the exports have been reduced to $21 billion from $25 billion a few year back.
"Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi has assured the business community to provide electricity and gas at concessionary price to help enhance the export volume," he said, adding that he met PM Abbasi last week, and briefed him on challenges of the business community. He sought some 25 percent decrease in the prices of power and gas to ensure a business-friendly environment in the country.
The FPCCI president said that Prime Minister accepted his demand on the condition that business community must assure him they would enhance exports volume to $30 billion within a couple of years at 25 percent annual growth. "Prime Minister is likely to formally announce it in January 2018," he said, urging the businessmen to work for promotion of trade.
Former chief executive TDAP S M Munir on this occasion called for promotion of Halal food industry. He said the country has huge potential in this sector. He urged the government to set up water desalination plants to cope with water crises in Karachi. He also hailed efforts of law-enforcing agencies and Pakistan Army for their counterterrorism operations to ensure peace and tranquility in the country.
Chairman of United Businessmen Group of FPCCI Iftekhar Ali Malik said import/export substitute industry must not be ignored when the country is facing severe liquidity crunch and heavily dependent on foreign borrowings. He termed China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) as the biggest opportunity for Pakistan and urged the government to establish vocational and technical training institutes in Baluchistan province also. Later, the FPCCI export trophies were distributed among the winner companies and individuals in recognition of their exceptional performances in promotion of exports.