The government should focus on promoting domestic commerce that would stimulate economic activities, enhance exports and stabilize the economy. This was said by Faad Waheed, Acting President, Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) while addressing a seminar on “The State of Domestic Commerce in Pakistan” organized by ICCI in collaboration with the Policy Institute of Development Economics (PIDE).

Faad Waheed said that domestic commerce is an important segment, which provides employment to 40 percent of the non-agricultural workforce, but the development of domestic commerce and domestic markets has been neglected in the policymaking even though it contributes significantly to the GDP. He stressed that the government should improve the infrastructure for domestic commerce in wholesale and retail sectors and focus on developing a network of business centers, markets and shopping malls to make Pakistan a thriving economy. He lauded the initiative of PIDE for developing a research study on The State of Domestic Commerce in Pakistan and hoped that the government would take benefit of this study report to bring needed policy reforms for promotion of this sector.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Nadeem ul Haq, Vice Chancellor, PIDE highlighted the too many regulations, complicated documentation & registration processes, complexity and multiplicity of taxes, high cost of compliance, fear of penalties and difficult access to formal finance to businesses as the main hurdles in the growth of domestic commerce and stressed that the government should address these issues to promote this important sector of the economy. He said that there are 120 regulatory authorities in the federal government alone and stressed that the government should simplify the regulatory regime with an aim to facilitate the better growth of domestic commerce.

Engr. Azhar ul Islam Zafar, Vice President ICCI said that the government should give better focus to promotion of domestic commerce that will provide Pakistan a strong platform for international trade as it encompasses wide ranging sectors and sub-sectors of the economy including transport, storage, communication, wholesale & retail trade, construction, entertainment, tourism, real estate and domestic marketing etc. He said that strengthening these areas would help bail out Pakistan’s declining economy and put it on sustainable growth.

Omer Siddique, Senior Research Economic PIDE gave a detailed presentation on The State of Domestic Commerce in Pakistan with necessary remedial measures to make it a vibrant segment of the economy.