PM Shehbaz pledges to address business community concerns as top priority

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif said that business community and industrialists are backbone of Pakistan’s economy and solving the difficulties being faced by them is among the government’s top priorities.

While speaking to prominent businessmen and industrialists in Islamabad, PM Shehbaz said that the government is actively working to implement business-friendly and investor-friendly policies in the nation.

The prime minister said the Special Investment Facilitation Council has given investors and the business community a straightforward platform where services are offered through a single point of contact.

Since the Faceless Customs Assessment System has encouraged openness, he said that a significant work pertaining to the digitalization of the Federal Board of Revenue has been finished.

PM Shehbaz said country’s macroeconomic conditions have significantly improved due to the efforts of government’s economic team. He, however, stressed the need to work hard to bring further improvements at the microeconomic level to pass on dividends of economic improvement to the people.

PM Shehbaz said the government is striving hard to achieve sustainable development goals. He added that in the past year, there has been significant progress in terms of Foreign Direct Investment in the country. He said the government’s priority regarding foreign direct investment is sectors that will boost the country’s exports through investment.

Talking about his recent visits to Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan, Shehbaz Sharif said several agreements to bring investment to Pakistan were signed during these tours, which is a manifestation of confidence of foreign investors in country’s economy.

On this occasion, the Prime Minister sought suggestions from the businessmen and industrialists to ensure sustainable progress in the country’s growth rate. He also directed to constitute a committee comprising businessmen, industrialists and government ministers in this regard.

This committee will give suggestions to the government regarding achieving sustainable growth rate within two weeks.

On their part, the participants appreciated the effective measures taken by the Federal Board of Revenue and other government agencies to prevent smuggling and also praised the government’s privatization and deregulation policy.