Ambiance of unity, protection, investment and partnerships make a comeback.

Byline: Khalil Ahmed

Interview with Mr. Ismail Suttar - CEO, Hub Pak Salt Refinery

PAGE: Tell me something about yourself and your organization, please:

Ismail Suttar: I am currently working as the CEO of Hub Pak Salt Refinery. I am also Member Board of Directors of Employers' Federation of Pakistan and Chairman of the EFP Economic Cell. I also represent the Lasbela Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Hub, Lasbela, Balochistan on the Executive Committee of the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) and recently elected as its Vice President.

The Employers' Federation of Pakistan is a representative of the business community to the government and other local and international bodies who are stakeholders for the industries of Pakistan. We are the only Employers constituent from Pakistan of ILO and recently signed a partnership with the Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council so our members will directly interact with investors across all Commonwealth economies. We regularly engage with the business community on different fronts such as training, seminars, and pushing for reforms to the government.

We collectively address problems encountered by the business community. Recently we have established the EFP Economic Council. The objective of the Council is to develop linkages with local and international institutions to conduct research and produce findings that benefit business practices and open up new avenues for investment in Pakistan. It will also study the underlying gaps in the industrial networks and the trust deficits between the government institutions and business community and will conduct sessions where they will meet to discuss their reservations and remove roadblocks.

PAGE: Give your views on the Pakistan Day festivities in Naya (new) Pakistan?

Ismail Suttar: There have been some unique additions to Pakistan Day festivities in recent years. Besides gathering with the family in public spaces such as parks and monuments, the youth have also resorted to activities which have a positive social and environmental impact. These festivities include tree plantation drives, painting the walls, doing photo walks, conducting open entertainment events where they present music, poetry and comedy. They garner support for such events and make sure people attend by creating a hype on social media and they are all present on social media so that makes it easy for them to do this.

My view is that the tide is...