Investors in the European Union are considering setting up hi-tech industrial units with technology transfer in Pakistan, but they want more “Ease of Doing Business” in line with international standards, said EU Ambassador Androulla Kaminara.
During the covid crisis, she recognised Pakistan’s realistic and creative approach to the business community in Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry (FCCI). She said Pakistan has managed this crucial situation tactfully, and as a result, amid the global recession, Pakistan has gained much-needed economic activity. She said that the Pakistani industrial sector is operating round the clock with maximum installed capacity with enhanced development activities, and now it needs more skilled labour to fulfil its foreign commitments well in time. She said the EU was providing Pakistan with a special grant that would allow it to equip its human resources with the best technical skills possible. Mrs. Androulla Kaminara said that in the research field, the EU was also supporting Pakistan. Full grants are being awarded to Pakistani students who will also have the opportunity to work under the supervision of senior researchers and academics in EU laboratories. She said Pakistan was the third largest country to win the EU Member States’ maximum educational scholarships last year.
Earlier Engineer Hafiz Ihtasham Javed President FCCI said that 80% of textile machinery is still imported from the EU by Pakistan, but now it should explore the possibility of manufacturing this machinery in Pakistan. He also clarified in depth the facilities given to current and prospective investors for domestic as well as other countries in the M3 industrial estate.
He said that the government was seriously considering expanding the tax holiday facility for up to ten years, while the M3 industrial estate also provides for one window service. He underlined the value of technical education and hoped that the EU would reconsider its policies to provide new and evolving technical skills for Pakistani youth. He said Pakistani manufacturers had learned to live with Covid. He said we could now address and fix our issues with our EU counterparts by zooming in. He hoped that the EU Ambassador would also play a constructive role in organising a zoom-in meeting between EU investors and Pakistani industrialists so that viable joint ventures could be completed. Engineer Hafiz Ihtasham Javed said that the Kashmir issue posed a serious threat to world peace and that the EU must use its power and urge India to address this persistent humanitarian problem in line with UN resolutions.
Engineer Bilal Jameel, Mr. Inam Afzal Khan, Mr. Muhammad Fazil, Ms. Qaratul Ain, Sheikh Zulfiqar Ahmed, and Tahir Yaqoob also took part in a question-answer meeting.
