ISLAMABAD: Adviser to Prime Minister on Commerce and Investment Abdul Razak Dawood has said that promotion of exports and value addition is among the topmost priorities of the government.
The adviser was talking to World Bank Country Director for Pakistan Najy Benhassine, who called on him at the Ministry of Commerce on Wednesday.
During the meeting, various matters for mutual cooperation were discussed, particularly support for institutional strengthening of the commerce ministry, including tariff rationalization, ease of doing business reforms, and e-commerce activities under the E-Commerce Policy.
The adviser shared an overview of different reforms and activities with the WB country director. Talking about the tariff rationalization, Dawood said the government has already revised the tariffs on raw materials and intermediaries with the objective of incorporating the remaining sectors in a phased manner within the next three years.
“The government is laying far greater emphasis on promoting ‘Make in Pakistan’ and export-led growth through this exercise and also by focusing on objectives of product and geographical diversification,” he added.
Discussing the significance of the services industry, Dawood underscored that Pakistan has tremendous untapped potential to enhance the exports of services, particularly the IT sector. He talked about the government’s E-Commerce Policy “wherein the experience of the World Bank can be helpful in knowledge management as well as enabling the small and medium enterprises to introduce e-commerce platforms for enhanced market outreach”.
The adviser appreciated the technical support of the World Bank to the Board of Investment regarding ease of doing business and other business climate reforms. He underlined that Pakistan will continue to follow the reform goals with the same momentum.
Further avenues of cooperation under the Strategic Trade Policy Framework were also discussed during the meeting.
