By: ShubhamGhosh
PAKISTANI prime minister Imran Khan on Monday (3) launched the Pak-China Business Investment Forum which aims at improving information exchange and promoting communication between the business community of the two nations to open up new areas of cooperation.
He regretted on the occasion that Pakistan was lagging behind in terms of exports.
Radio Pakistan reported that the forum comprises 18 companies from China and 19 from Pakistan and its goal is to promote sustainable investment, export industry and development of modern technology on Pakistani soil.
The forum has been set up with the collaboration of the Board of Investment Pakistan and All Pakistan Chinese Enterprises.
Khan, who addressed the inauguration ceremony in Islamabad, said countries that are smaller than Pakistan were doing much better than it in exports.
“It is very painful for us. How can a country progress when it is not into exports?” he said.
Khan said a country makes little progress until it sells products to the world and noted that the products have to be more than just agricultural in nature.
“Countries do not progress by just selling vegetables,” the cricketer-turned-politician said.
The prime minister also said that he often gets the feedback from foreign investors about the complicated process of investment in the country.
“It takes a lot of time from an agreement to its implementation here, and the time is money for investors. He will turn away if no measures are taken for his facilitation,” he said.
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leader said planning was underway with the Board of Investment to address the problem and added that the government was focused to take up industrialisation and increase exports.
Khan said Pakistan must learn about urban planning from China to deal with disparity in resource management caused by rapid population growth.
“Our cities are expanding so rapidly, which will eventually lead to food crisis and a gradual decrease in green areas. China switched to vertical development and saved their land for food development,” he said.
Khan said he was set to visit China next week but added that the plan is tentative at the moment due to the Covid-19 situation. He also said that the visit, if it happens, would focus on urban planning.
