ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Asad Umar said on Thursday that Pakistan would not be affected by India’s irrational and unwise decision to halt trade activities with Pakistan, terming the decison “counterproductive for India itself”.
Talking to media after addressing the ‘Pakistan Leadership Conversation 2019’ moot, organised by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) Pakistan, he said that it was an irrational decision on part of India to raise duties on import of Pakistani products.
He said that the trade of Pakistani products would not be affected by this unwise decision, rather it would eventually result in a loss for India.
On negotiations with International Monetary Fund (IMF), the minister said the differences have been narrowed as technical sessions between the government and the lending body were being conducted on a regular basis.
He said two of such sessions were held during the last week and another session was scheduled this week, adding that data was being exchanged during these interactions.
Earlier, speaking at the function, the minister said that the government was completely revamping the structure of public sector to promote governance that would lead the country towards sustainable progress and development.
The minister said that there was a dire need of placing right people on the right place, adding that “unless we give opportunity to the professionals, the dream of progress would not be achieved.”
Umar noted that governance in the private sector was better because professionals were provided chances in accordance with their professional capacities and capabilities.
He highlighted the importance of leadership, saying that a leader should have the vision to look into the future and plan accordingly at the present.
He urged ACCA to gear up its efforts for producing more professionals as their demand in the market would go up in the future.
ACCA President Robert Stenhouse on the occasion highlighted the importance development strategies and business environment.
He said that ACCA had identified four particular areas which could help business and economic development, including bringing about improvements in regulations, application of digital technologies, globalization to ensure ‘ease of doing business’ and increasing public interest by involving young generation.
He said although there were lot of opportunities available in Pakistan, but there were certain challenges too that needed to be addressed.
Head of ACCA Pakistan Sajjeed Aslam, in his address, said that future of the country was very bright, adding that despite challenges, efforts were underway to lead the country towards development and progress.
