ISLAMABAD, Aug 20 (APP): President Dr Arif Alvi on Tuesday said despite economic challenges the government was providing enabling environment to business community and urged them to support the government’s drive for documentation of the economy.
Speaking at the Gujranwala Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s (GCCI) dinner for ambassadors here at the Awan-e-Sadr, he said the government was making all out efforts to support business activities and simplify the documentation procedures, adding that public and private sectors should join hands for national transition towards documented economy.
The diplomatic dinner of GCCI was attended by Advisor to the Prime Minister on Trade and Investment Abdul Razak Dawood, Dean of Diplomatic Corps Atadjan, ambassadors and a number of businessmen.
The president said it was responsibility of the state to facilitate business community, restoring their confidence and collect tax from them and spend it on social sectors like health and education.
Unfortunately after passage of more than 70 years, a large section of country economy remained undocumented, which not only led to low revenue collection but also placed an extra burden on the documented sectors of economy, he added.
He said the current state of affairs was unsustainable, as there were multiple challenges confronting the economy like the huge trade deficit and balance of payment problem.
He, however, said due to certain measures taken by the government the current account deficit had been reduced from $19 billion to $13 billion. The stabilization measures had corrected some of the macroeconomic imbalances but a lot of work was still needed to be done to keep the economy on the path of sustainable economic growth, he added.
He said the government had initiated a number of programmes like reforms in the FBR, ease of doing business and reducing cost of doing business to flourish the economy.
The president said the government and business community should also collectively work toward enhancing Pakistan’s exports with special focus on value addition. Likewise, exporters should also explore new markets in different parts of the world in addition to the existing ones, he added.
Earlier, the president gave awards to various businessmen and congratulated them for excelling in their respective fields .
GCCI President Muhammad Asif Anees, in his welcome address, said as a city of engineering, Gujranwala was the hub of small, medium and large scale industries where 6000 industrial units and 15000 cottage industries were contributing in flourishing the national economy.
He said since its establishment, Gujranwala had been playing a pivotal role in trade, commerce, industry and service sectors of the country.
VNS Islamabad
