Lahore, January 11, 2023 (PPI-OT):Pakistan has been facing the issue of trade deficit over the last few decades with the situation getting worse over the last decade due to its reliance on imported goods stated by S.M. Naveed, Chairman Special Economic Zones Authority (SEZA) during a meeting held at his office today.
He said that according to the State Bank of Pakistan, Pakistan’s exports during the FY2021 stood at 22,536 million U.S. dollars whereas its imports were 43,645 million U.S. dollars, indicating a sharp trade deficit due to the lack of export-oriented products made by the country.
To uplift the export sector of Pakistan, nine special economic zones (SEZs) have been identified under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) where joint ventures from Pakistan, China and other foreign countries will be formed to enhance industrial production.
S.M. Naveed, Chairman SEZA said that I believe SEZs will play a great role in writing a new chapter of economic development of Pakistan because the government is offering a lot of incentives for the industries to be set up in the zones and a large number of investors are taking interest to invest in them, and more are expected in the future.
He further added that Pakistan’s foreign direct investment (FDI) in the export sector has been almost zero and CPEC SEZs are one of the main focuses of the Pakistani government to uplift the export sector by attracting the FDI.
China is currently outsourcing its industry to some foreign countries, our government also wants Chinese industries specially the textile and leather industry to be relocated to Pakistan, because we have the expertise, infrastructure and experience in this sector, and relocation of Chinese industrial units to our country will give a boom to our textile exports.
He said that the foreign investors will tap the potential of CPEC and China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) to find export markets for their products, besides catering to the local market of 220 million people. Pakistan is located at a strategic location of the BRI, which not only gives it a chance to connect to the outside world but also attracts foreign investment inside it.
He said that his country has now all the potential to start massive industrialization and the investors who invested in Pakistan now will be pioneers of many sectors of the industry in the country and may get huge benefits in the future.
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