Trade and industry betterment plans are on right path; CPEC will truly push our products to global markets.

• Author: Ahmed, Khalil
• Position: China-Pakistan Economic Corridor - Interview

Byline: Khalil Ahmed

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

PAGE: Tell me something about yourself, please:

Ismail Suttar: I am currently serving as the Chairman of the Economic Council at the Employers' Federation of Pakistan, a 68 years old non-profit Apex Body of the Manufacturers entity, which is an active constituent of the International Labor Organization (ILO), representing the largest single stakeholders' body in Pakistan, comprising over 900 organizations and 30 leading industrial and chambers associations.

I am the CEO of Hub-Pak Salt Refinery, and also work in close liaison with the government and the business community to resolve key issues faced by industries.

PAGE: How would you comment on trade and industry in Pakistan?

Ismail Suttar: Trade is one of the most critical aspects we have to look into if we want to achieve a turnaround in the dismal projections of our economic growth. Since the current account deficit has been rightly identified as the most immediate hurdle for our country, the decision makers have been on the course of discouraging imports through tariffs, quotas and devaluing Pak Rupee. While I acknowledge that they have been able to bring down imports and improve the country's foreign reserves, it is also crucial that we have a long term approach. This would involve incentivizing manufacturing in specific sectors that would allow a sustainable increase in Pakistan's exports. And as far as identifying what these sectors could be and how would we go about developing them is concerned, this is precisely what we at Economic Council of EFP are striving to achieve. In this regard, I think our report on the Fisheries Industry of Pakistan is a move in the right direction.

PAGE: Kindly give your views on the benefits of CPEC for the economy of Pakistan:

Ismail Suttar: Prime Minister Imran Khan's visit to China has brought back the attention to CPEC (China-Pakistan Economic Corridor), and why shouldn't it?. CPEC is an important constituent of our country's trade policy and it is one of the prime examples of how public-private partnership can function to restructure an economy.

As far as the benefits to economy of Pakistan are concerned, I would want to echo the sentiment of various member firms of Employers' Federation of Pakistan. We feel that the construction of roads and railways would eventually link the Northern part of the country with the sea ports in South and is a much needed step. High...