ISLAMABAD: A review meeting was held under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on the recommendations of the sub-working group established on domestic imports, customs duties and trade sector reforms.

In the meeting, members of the sub-working group consisting of representative businessmen apprised the Prime Minister of issues related to customs and tax collection and presented their recommendations.

Welcoming the recommendations, the Prime Minister directed the concerned ministries and institutions to increase domestic industrial production and provide all possible facilities to businessmen and investors. He said that the recent national tariff policy has been implemented to facilitate domestic industrial production in a positive manner so that exports and imports can be aligned with the country’s overall economic development.

The meeting was also attended by Federal Minister for Finance Muhammad Aurangzeb, Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar, Federal Minister for Climate Change Dr. Mosaddiq Malik, Federal Minister for Power Sardar Owais Ahmed Leghari, Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Division Ahad Khan Cheema, Federal Minister for Petroleum Ali Pervez Malik, Minister of State for Finance Azhar Bilal Kayani, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister Haroon Akhtar, Chairman SIFC, representatives of the country’s industry and business and other relevant government officials.

The Prime Minister stressed in the meeting that sector-specific suggestions and identification of issues are indispensable for increasing the country’s industrial production and trade. He said that sustainable economic growth based on exports can be possible only through increased investment and productivity in the country, government protection and improvement of infrastructure.

The Prime Minister directed that strict monitoring should be maintained on the collection of customs duty at the border of bilateral and transit trade products with other countries.