ISLAMABAD: Governor Punjab Muhammad Balighur Rehman said on Thursday that the Special Investment Facilitation Council has brought all stakeholders on the same page and hoped that the incoming government would turn around Pakistan’s economy towards better growth and development.

While he lauded the business community for their contributions towards the socio-economic development of the country and taking an active part in philanthropic activities, the Governor of Punjab stressed the need to bring out-of-school children to schools and educate them.

He was speaking at a ceremony to give awards to business leaders for achievements in their respective fields, organised by the Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI).

Mr Balighur Rehman highlighted the achievements of the Punjab Skills Development Fund from 2013 to 2018, which were made into case studies by Harvard and the London School of Economics.

He assured that he would support the idea of representation of the business community in the syndicates of universities to promote academia-industry linkages to address issues of industry and improve economic growth.

Addressing the occasion, Ahsan Zafar Bakhtawari, President, ICCI, expressed gratitude to Governor Punjab for his support of the new industrial estate project of ICCI.

He said that the land for the said project has been identified in the district of Chakwal and stressed that the work on this important project should be expedited to complete it to promote industrialization and exports.

He said that all parties should accept the election results to move forward, as Pakistan needs political stability to achieve economic stability.

The ICCI members called for establishing an IT park in Islamabad to harness the educated IT talent in the federal capital.

Khalid Iqbal Malik, Group Leader ICCI emphasised the importance of imparting education to the children of underprivileged segments of society and said that the business community should play a role in this regard too.

Zafar Bakhtawari, Secretary General of the United Businessmen Group (UBG), stressed the importance of encouraging youth to adopt entrepreneurship that would strengthen the economy.

Published in Dawn, February 16th, 2024