By Ajmal Khan Yousafzai
ISLAMABAD: Speakers at webinar said that Rashakai , the first special economic zones (SEZs) under CPEC offer lucrative incentives that needed to be tapped for boosting the country’s exports.
The webinar on ‘Branding Pakistan – A Better Place for Investment: Exploring KP’s Investment Opportunities” was organized by KP- Board of Investment and Trade. The speakers highlighted that CPEC presents an excellent opportunity to reinforce Pakistan’s economic base and expand regional connectivity.
They were of the view that Rashakai’s signing of developers agreement presents a very good opportunity for KP to start framing policies that can boost investors confidence. They also underlined the need to provide a very strong security environment. Abdul Karim Khan?Special Assistant to Chief Minister on Industries and Commerce, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa pointed out that the recent agreement to develop Rashakai Economic Zone would lead to industrialization in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
He further mentioned that Rashakai Economic Zone would play a vital role in promoting exports and strengthening import substitution, which would ensure human and economic development. He also hoped the special economic zone would create a business environment for attracting direct foreign investment and transfer of the high-tech industry from China, paving the way for technology relocation.
Hassan Daud, CEO of KP- BoIT moderated the session and gave a brief overview of the priority investment sectors in KP and the priorities and initiatives taken by the government of KP for creating a favorable environment for investors.
Naghmana Hashmi, a former ambassador of Pakistan to China affirmed the work of KP-BoIT and gave advice for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to attract investors and develop tourism.
She emphasized the importance of proactively engaging with China, “China is a continent, there are different provinces, cities and areas which have been allocated different responsibilities, KP should pay attention to different provinces and their respective development models.”
