Vice President of the Lahore Chamber of Commerce & Industry Faheem-ur-Rehman Saigal has said that Pakistan could have earned substantial amount of foreign exchange through exports of seafood items that stayed at $451.026 million during the fiscal year 2017-18. After attending the maritime workshop organized by Pakistan Navy, the LCCI vice president in a statement on Saturday said that dream of economically strong Pakistan can easily come true if we focus on "Blue Ocean Economy" and avail all of those opportunities which land-locked countries don't have.
Unlike various other countries, Pakistan has a vast area of deep blue sea with ideal ports of Gwadar, Keti, Qasim and Pasni but due to lack of due focus, the role of these valuables sites did not remain important in the country's economy despite the presence of effective defence.
He said that blue ocean economy is ranging from transportation of trading goods, communication, and tourism to mineral extraction. He said that fisheries, oil drilling, ship building and ship breaking industries have a lot of economic scope.
He said that Pakistan have only one ship yard that is not enough to cater to the needs of country. He said that maritime transport is backbone of the global trade and economy. Every country relies on Maritimes trade to sell what it has and buy what it needs. He said that around 90 per cent of world trade is carried by the international shipping industry. Pakistan can grab immense benefits from these sectors through public-private partnership, he added.
Saigal paid rich tributes to Pakistan Navy for holding Maritime Security Workshop and said the event has made a strong relation between Pakistan Armed Forces and private sector.
He said the Chief of Navel Staff Admiral Zafar Mahmood Abbasi who also addressed the workshop said that importance of maritime has been increased after China Pakistan Economic Corridor project under One Belt One Road program. He said that economic prosperity of Pakistan is highly attached with Blue Economy and Maritime Security. He said that Pakistan Navy is fully capable of defending national maritime interests.