By Minahil
Makhdoom
ISLAMABAD: 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.
According to the State Bank of Pakistan, Pakistan’s exports during the FY2020 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.
Pakistani experts and officials believe that the 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.
In a conversation with media, the country’s Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin said 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.
“Pakistan’s exports are only 10 percent of our GDP, and we are taking measures to increase them to at least 40 percent, and in this regard, we are making plans and forming policies to tap the potential of CPEC SEZs,” Tarin said.
He added that Prime Minister Imran Khan has held three meetings on CPEC in the last few days and the government wants to speed up the formation of the SEZs and in this regard, a coherent strategy is being formed to facilitate Chinese and other foreign investors to invest in Pakistan.
“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,” Tarin told media.
He also hinted at some new incentives for SEZs which will be approved by the prime minister after more meetings on CPEC with officials, following which doing business in the SEZs will be much easier.
