Chinese model a necessity to help woo home remittances - Instead of devaluation, tariffs should be placed on all non-essential imports - Also mass-scale marketing effort need to be executed to increase exports - Interview with Mr ISMAIL SUTTAR - Chairman, EFP Economic Council.

• Author: Ahmed, Khalil
• Position: Employer's Federation of Pakistan - Interview

Byline: Khalil Ahmed

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

Ismail Suttar: I am currently serving as the Chairman of the Economic Council at the Employers' Federation of Pakistan (EFP-EC). The 68 years old non-profit entity is an active constituent of the International Labor Organization (ILO), which serves as the 'voice of employers' for its largest single stakeholders' body in Pakistan, comprising of over 900 organizations and 28 leading industrial and chambers associations. As a professional, I am the CEO of Hub-Pak Salt Refinery, and also work in close liaison with the national government as well as the business community to resolve key outstanding issues faced by industries.

Through our first of its kind membership of the Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council (CWEIC), we are strategizing a plan to set up trade and remittance channels in the greater Europe, Eastern Asia and North and South American regions. Later this year, we are also scheduled to host a major road show in London, under the banner of "Invest in Pakistan".

The EFP-EC also comprises focused subcommittees addressing a multitude of pressing socioeconomic and national issues such as water shortage, climate threat, law and order, cyber crime, etc. We are currently in the process of establishing industry-academia linkages with top business and engineering schools of Pakistan. On the other hand, forming research think tanks through these connections is an integral part of our plan and because we believe there is a lot of untapped potential among the talented youth of Pakistan.

Some of the milestones which we have achieved in a short span of 6 months include acquiring a 0.32 million tons contract of rice from Philippines; facilitating ease of visa regulations for Pakistanis in Qatar; formulating a comprehensive 2025 economic vision and drafting budgetary proposals for the incoming FY20. Moreover, we are well synced with Pakistani missions abroad and are charting out numerous trade exhibitions to further 'Make in Pakistan' deep in communities abroad.

PAGE: How would you comment on the remittances received by Pakistan every year?

Ismail Suttar: Pakistan is a developing country, where when it comes to technology it is like going back to days of horse-and-buggy. Plus, the inveterate corruption, butted against political crimes of past governments such as money laundering, stretching from the top hierarchy of state institutions down to the level of local businessman, has subjugated us to influential financial entities. The subsequent unstable state of our economy today, with soaring public debt and inflated trade deficit, has pushed us to heavily rely on our primary [and only] non-debt source of forex earnings from the roughly 9 million Pakistani expatriates scattered around the world.

Qatar promised 100,000 jobs for Pakistanis, improve labor rights for immigrants. In the 2022 FIFA World Cup, there is a great opportunity for employment but the government here, needs to set-up vocational training institutes to upgrade the professional skill set [mix] of workers and familiarize them well with foreign culture and language of host country.

To pace up immigration, efforts should be garnered towards strengthening bilateral...