Pak PM Seeks Business Leaders’ Suggestions to Boost Export Led Growth
Shehbaz Sharif urges business leaders to suggest measures for boosting exports, improving the ease of doing business and expanding access to export financing
ISLAMABAD, Sep 8: Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday called on leading business figures to recommend practical measures to strengthen exports and support sustainable economic growth, stressing that the country’s future expansion must be driven by overseas sales.
“Whatever growth we have to achieve, it has to be export led growth, period,” Sharif said while chairing a meeting with prominent members of the business community in Islamabad.
The prime minister sought their views on ways to expand Pakistan’s export base and overcome obstacles faced by businesses engaged in international trade.
“I need your opinions on how to increase our exports, as well as what challenges we will face and how to address them,” he said.
Sharif said the government had maintained regular consultations with the business community, including discussions held ahead of the federal budget presented in June.
He described the collaboration between the government and private sector as essential for implementing economic reforms, saying consultations had contributed to structural changes introduced over the past two-and-a-half years.
The prime minister also directed the relevant authorities to examine a proposal to extend the exemption from super tax currently available to exporters.
During the meeting, officials briefed the business delegation on steps being taken to modernise ports, strengthen transport infrastructure and improve trade-related facilities. They said port charges had been reduced and operational capacity enhanced to facilitate commercial activity.
Sharif highlighted the government’s economic reforms and said enforcement measures had helped generate an additional PKR 800 billion in revenue in a single year.
Chairing a separate meeting on the Export Development Fund, the prime minister said a PKR 3 billion risk pool would help widen access to export credit insurance, particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
The government has been seeking to strengthen Pakistan’s external economic position amid persistent balance-of-payments pressures. The country has repeatedly relied on International Monetary Fund programmes for financial support, with IMF assistance helping Pakistan avert a potential sovereign default in 2023.
Sharif’s latest outreach to business leaders comes as Islamabad seeks to expand exports, improve the business environment and strengthen the private sector’s role in driving economic growth.
