Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) President Muhammad Haroon Agar stressed that Pakistan should focus on signing preferential and free trade agreements with as many countries as possible. For increased exports of the country, he said, it would be imperative to promote regional trade by encouraging exports to India and other SAARC countries, ASEAN countries, the Central Asian Republics, China, Middle East and North Africa, Iran and Eurasian region. The KCCI President was exchanging views with the World Bank’s Consultant on Trade and Finance Sadia Khan during her visit to KCCI, said a press release by KCCI. Agar recommended setting up sector-specific export promotion councils and export-import (EXIM) bank in Pakistan. “This is very much required for promoting and developing exports of the country,” he said. Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) should create direct linkages with stakeholders, local and abroad, to materialise resources towards the pursuit of a quantum leap in exports. For successful export promotion it is vital that the product supply chain is strengthened specially to add value, Agar added. The KCCI chief said enhancing industrialisation and exports is the only answer to the revival and strengthening of the national economy. Due to energy crisis and high cost of manufacturing, our export oriented industry is facing issues competing, he said. Export figures are not truly aligned with the existing export potential, he said. He proposed that the incoming government should appoint Exports Attaches at Pakistan’s foreign missions, responsible for disseminating useful information regarding local companies, buyers’ demand and supply trends besides organising exhibitions and fairs to help exporters tap new markets all over the world. The World Bank’s Consultant on Trade and Finance Sadia Khan recognised the role of KCCI in socio-economic development of Pakistan and promotion of commerce and industry. She sought KCCI’s input to identify issues and challenges for traders to access trade finance facilities from financial institutions, to gauge demand for working capital and common means employed to address demand from both informal and formal channels. She also sought views on the notion that access to finance from formal sector is by large the factor hindering export trade.
