ISLAMABAD: A total of 168 reform proposals have been taken up with the federal and provincial departments to eliminate regulatory bottlenecks for facilitation of businesses — particularly small and medium enterprises (SMEs) — and over 100 reforms have been implemented while others are in various stages of implementation, the Board of Investment (BoI) said on Thursday.

To date, three rounds of regulatory reforms and guillotine have been launched, and a dedicated interactive portal showcased the implemented reforms along with supporting evidence, BoI Additional Secretary Mukar­ram Jah Ansari informed the Sixth Steering Committee Mee­ting on the Pakistan Regulatory Modernisation Initiative (PRMI).

Chairing the meeting, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Commerce and Investment Abdul Razak Dawood appreciated the regulatory reforms introduced for facilitating SMEs under the BoI-led regulatory reforms and the Guillotine Initiative.

Mr Ansari informed the meeting that the entire exercise has been carried out in close collaboration with business associations of varied sectors to ensure accurate identifications of cumbersome regulations that are hampering business growth.

He appreciated the support of the World Bank, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and the Office of Product Safety and Stan­dards for capacity building and handholding of the government departments rega­rding smart regulations.

Published in Dawn, January 14th, 2022