Faisal Malik lauds ICCI for playing as bridge between govt, business community
President of the Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry (ICCI) Nasir Mansoor Qureshi has termed exports and investment two vital indicators for Pakistan’s economy and called upon the government to take urgent measures to attract foreign investment in the country and to boost Pakistan’s exports.
He was talking to Chairman & Editor-in-Chief of Pakistan Observer Mr Faisal Zahid Malik who along with Associate Editor, Mr Ebraheem Faisal was visiting the ICCI head office to congratulate Mr Qureshi upon assuming the charge of the President of the Islamabad Chamber here on Thursday.
From the ICCI side, Vice President Nasir Mehmood Chaudhry, Special Adviser to ICCI President, Mr Naeem Siddiqui and Secretary General, Ghulam Murtaza were also present.
They discussed the overall economic outlook and agreed there was a dire need to create business and investment-friendly environment in the country. Nasir Mansoor Qureshi while welcoming Mr Faisal Zahid Malik highlighted that he was carrying forward his father late Zahid Malik’s rich golden legacy of ‘Pakistan First’ and the presence of third generation (Ebraheem Faisal) was a testament to that fact. Mr Zahid Malik (late) played the role of a bridge between different groups of traders for a healthy and positive business environment in the country, said Mr Qureshi.
A huge untapped potential awaits foreign investors, said Nasir Qureshi adding the local businessmen also needed the support of the government like uninterrupted power supply, ease of doing business and ownership by the government.
Unfortunately, our bureaucracy has a typical mindset towards the business community and instead of making things easier for them creates hurdles which results in negative business sentiment, said the ICCI president.
This is why, recently we have witnessed a trend among the business community of establishing businesses overseas, he said. Nasir Mansoor Qureshi however welcomed the measures such as cut in the interest rate by the State Bank of Pakistan to 12% and the investment-friendly initiatives of the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC). He said the interest rate should further comes down to a single digit only then the business sector would benefit from it.
The resolve by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Army Chief General Asim Munir to facilitate the foreign business companies and investors is quite reassuring, however, the bureaucratic mindset is the biggest problem in the way of boost in exports, he said.
ICCI President who himself is head of a major pharmaceutical company quoted a number of incidents and examples that showed how Pakistani businessmen started from scratch and set up business empires with dedication, hard work and innovative business skills.
All our businessmen need is the government’s support, confidence and respect. In return they can take the country’s economy to heights unattained so far, he said.
About his key priority as President of the ICCI, Nasir Mansoor Qureshi said he would work for industry-academy linkages during his tenure as the research in university is meaningless unless and until it is of some use to the industry.
Our universities are producing the PhD scholars but their applicability in the market is all that matters, he said.
Nasir Mansoor Qureshi was of the view that Pakistan’s tourism, textile, Halal meat export, pharmaceuticals and IT are some of the sectors that had huge potential and with a little value addition can earn billions of dollars through exports. We need to move in that direction to come at par with the top exporting countries of Asia like Bangladesh, India, Thailand, and even Cambodia.
He lauded the role of the ICCI for establishing liaison between the government stakeholders and the business community. Nasir Mansoor Qureshi and Mr Faisal Zahid Malik agreed on mutual cooperation in future. Mr Faisal Zahid Malik while commending the vision of the President of the ICCI assured him of Pakistan Observer’s complete support in his endeavours.
