Govt Working Hard To Put Economy Back On Track: Baligh Ur Rehman

ISLAMABAD, Apr 5 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 5th Apr, 2023 ) :Governor Punjab Muhammad Baligh ur Rehman has said that the government was working hard to put the economy back on track.

He also termed the opening of Khunjareb Pass as a good sign for a better economic future of the country.

The governor was addressing an iftar dinner hosted by the Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry in his honour, said a press release on Wednesday.

He said that the economy was growing in 2013 and work on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor projects was progressing well, but after 2018, the work on CPEC projects slowed down due to which the economy suffered.

The governor said that the business community had a key role in the economic development of the country and the government was determined to support them.

"Countries are run through taxes," he said lauding the role of the business community in paying taxes and contributing towards the welfare activities to help the poor and needy.

He said that it was very important to facilitate the business community that would help create more jobs, improve the tax-to-GDP ratio, reduce poverty and stabilize the economy.

Rehman said that the construction of the Rawalpindi Ring Road, repair of Kahuta Road and completion of the IJP road should be expedited. He also assured ICCI of his cooperation for the establishment of a new industrial zone in the region.

Speaking at the occasion, Ahsan Zafar Bakhtawari, President ICCI said that the chamber of commerce was working for a new industrial zone in the region and urged the Punjab government to cooperate in identifying suitable land for the important project to promote industrialization.

He also called for expediting the pace of work on IJP Road for its timely completion, adding that Rawalpindi Ring Road was very important to address the traffic congestion issues in the twin cities and stressed the need to expedite the project.

Faad Waheed, Senior Vice President, ICCI said that Pakistan needs to boost exports to improve its forex reserves, but the SBP had further increased the interest rate, taking it to 21 percent, which would create more problems for the industrial sector and urged the SBP to reduce the interest rate to facilitate the private sector.