KARACHI: The government will provide protection to local industry and take necessary measures to reinvigorate all industrial sectors and ensure export-led growth, said Adviser to Prime Minister Abdul Razzak Dawood on Friday.

Speaking to a select gathering of executives of business houses and top industry leaders at Employers Federation of Pakistan (EFP), the adviser said that the government is focused on an achievable export-led growth and plans are under way to reduce and in some instances remove regulatory duties (RD) on raw materials imports in order to ensure continuous flow of inputs to economy’s growth.

As a first step the commerce and finance ministries have developed National Tariff Policy with a three-year duty structure so that the ad hoc syndrome of fixation of duties would end once and for all, he added.

Mr Dawood said that for any policy to be successful it is imperative that it must have long term orientation to instill confidence in trade.

The advisor to prime minister disclosed that Pakistan is in the second round of negotiating Pak-China Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and hoped that it would yield substantial results for domestic trade and industry.

He further said that Pakistan has been placed as a guest of honour at an upcoming expo to be held on Nov 4 in China, and urged business community to take advantage of the opportunity by participating at the event.

He said that the country needs more cement plants – especially in Baluchistan’s coastal areas – so that the country can export cheaper cement to the region avoiding high inter-provincial transportation costs.

The advisor said that the visiting Saudi delegation would be invited to invest in naphtha cracker plant which is urgently needed by the country. He said that Pakistan will also request the delegation to invest in engineering, chemical and information technology sectors focusing on exports as well as import substitution.

However, President EFP, Majyd Aziz was apprehensive of the advisor’s claims and said that it is imperative for the government to bring about fundamental change and introduce reforms at grass root levels.

Majyd Aziz also raised concerns over some of the actions of government’s ministers and parliamentarians and said that they need to come out of the campaigning mode and start delivering on the promises.

He suggested that the government should also form an economic advisory council consisting of private sector representatives who should work in tandem with the Council of Economic Advisors consisting of economists and academicians that was formed recently.

Published in Dawn, September 29th, 2018