PM Shehbaz terms export-led growth as Govt’s foremost priority

Islamabad (Web Desk): Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has directed the relevant departments to draft a detailed action plan aimed at expanding Pakistan’s exports, with particular emphasis on agricultural products, as part of broader efforts to bring down the country’s trade deficit.

The directive was issued while he chaired a meeting in Islamabad to assess initiatives focused on strengthening national exports.

Addressing the participants, the prime minister said that moving the economy toward export-led growth is among the government’s foremost priorities. He directed officials to develop a joint and well-coordinated strategy in consultation with the Rice Exporters Association to further increase rice exports and enhance Pakistan’s presence in international markets.

He also called for the swift implementation of institutional reforms intended to support export growth and ensure that exporters receive maximum facilitation.

The prime minister made it clear that any delays or lapses in the timely release of tax refunds to exporters would not be tolerated.

During the meeting, officials presented an overview of the government’s export promotion policies and shared trade statistics covering the period from July to December of the previous year.

The briefing highlighted ongoing work to raise exports from high-value sectors such as engineering goods, pharmaceuticals, medical equipment and processed food products.

Participants were also informed that steps are being taken to integrate Pakistan’s export industries into global value chains, while improvements in port infrastructure and logistics systems across the country are underway to ease trade flows.

In addition, the meeting was told that negotiations are continuing with several countries on government-to-government agreements related to rice exports.

Separately, chairing a high-level meeting on loans to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and agri-sector in Islamabad on Wednesday, PM Shehbaz underscored that improving the flow of credit to the private sector, particularly SMEs and small farmers seeking to adopt modern technologies, is one of the government’s foremost objectives.

During the meeting, the prime minister called on the State Bank to further ease and simplify the mechanisms through which commercial banks extend financing to businesses and farmers.

He highlighted that service providers should be given preferential access to credit in order to stimulate innovation in agriculture.

PM Shehbaz also instructed his Special Assistant, Haroon Akhtar, along with the SMEDA team, to travel across all provinces, including Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir, to develop a detailed and inclusive policy framework for supporting small and medium-sized enterprises.

He further directed that young people be equipped with entrepreneurship training to help them start new businesses and drive greater economic activity across the country.