ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has introduced eight selected projects covering sustainable development goals (SDGs), with high potential to attract foreign direct investment (FDI).

The projects presented at the two-day virtual SDG Investment Fair 2021 which concluded on Wednesday, organised by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs.

The projects were from varied sectors including infrastructure, hydro power, medical devices development center, silicon solar PV panels fabrication, production of agriculture drones and smart farms, university technology parks and IT incubation centers across Pakistan.

Board of Investment (BoI) Secretary Fareena Mazhar, who represented Pakistan at the two-day global forum, apprised the audience about Pakistan’s investment regime and facilitation and wide range of services provided by the BoI to international and domestic investors including support with work visa and opening of branch or liaison offices in the country.

BoI has a repository of over $14 billion SDG aligned projects in the sector of transport and communication, energy including renewable energy, water supply and sanitation, education, health care and information technology.

These projects will not only contribute to SDGs but will also support local employment generation and economic growth, she explained.

Pakistan’s tax and incentive regime was also part of the presentation wherein the BoI secretary shared that the government is offering special incentives for projects related to technology, clean energy and social sector including housing and construction.

She mentioned that Pakistan’s financial regulatory structure is robust and facilitates priority sector investments through flexible support.

Highlighting the facilitation for investors under the ongoing reform drives namely the Pakistan Regula­tory Modernisation Initiative and ‘Ease of Doing Business’, she stated that a company can now be registered in 24 hours and Pakistan is now offering online e-visa facility to more than 174 countries.

She further added that Pakistan has recently launched Single Window Company as part of compliance with trade facilitation agreement of the World Trade Organisation which links over 60 government departments for acquiring necessary certifications online. This will facilitate speedy disposal of import and export transactions, she said.

Published in Dawn, April 15th, 2021