Punjab Board of Investment and Trade (PBIT) hosted Carlos Bronzatto, Chief Executive of Geneva-based World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies (WAIPA) at the first Investment Promotion Seminar where major leaders from business, government and academia interacted with Bronzatto and asked him questions pertaining to investment promotion in Pakistan.
Bronzatto indicated that Pakistan, like other emerging economies such as Brazil is going to be a major player in the world economy in coming years and must develop its investment policy so as to prepare itself for the investment that is surely to follow in the future. Punjab Board of Investment and Trade (PBIT) Chief Executive Officer Saadat Muzaffar outlined positive trends in the Pakistani economy in the last quarter in terms of remittances, exports and liberalisation of the economy though reforms.
Bronzatto also conducted a visit to the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) and pointed the strong link between academia and industry as well as elaborating on the potential of universities such as LUMS to meet the growing need and demand placed upon higher education in Pakistan. He indicated that LUMS could be an important partner in providing the required resources for the planned investment conference to be held in Lahore in the near future which is to be jointly hosted by WAIPA and PBIT.
He also called on Chief Minister Mohammad Shahbaz Sharif, where they discussed the way forward for the Punjab Government to boost foreign investment in the province with regards to image promotion, policy advocacy and investor facilitation. Bronzatto appraised the chief minister on the international benchmarks of investment promotions followed by different IPAs such as PBIT of which there are over 200 that fall under WAIPA’s auspices. The chief minister assured him of full support in organising and hosting the World Investment Conference in Lahore in the near future.
The chief minister reiterated that PBIT is the apex investment promotion body of Punjab vested with both autonomy and mandate to work on bringing in more FDI in the province. Similarly, P&D Chairman, Secretary Finance and other senior members of the Punjab Bureaucracy who were also present, discussed the ways in which PBIT is supported in its bid to attract large scale investments to the province. This was the first time that a senior representative of WAIPA had visited Pakistan. Bronzatto also conducted a special training session with PBIT staff at the PBIT office where he studied the investment promotion model of PBIT and discussed ways to improve it. He stressed on all departments of the Punjab Government working as a team to lure in investment and close business deals. Bronzatto said that his visit was very productive and positive in terms of solidifying the positive working relationship between WAIPA and PBIT.
