Showing some concerns over the destabilizing political environment in the country, Islamabad Chambers of Commerce and Industry has called upon all stakeholders to work for establishing strong political stability which was key requirement for growth of business and investment activities and steering the country out of economic problems. 

 

Atif Ikram Sheikh, President, Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry said that economy had just started to revive from its slow growth mode, but the re-emergence of volatile political atmosphere could derail this process which would not benefit the country. He said it was high time that a national consensus should be developed on the core economic agenda to put the country on the path of sustainable growth. 

 

He said though foreign reserves of the country have improved, but the economy was still facing many challenges as public debt had reached Rs.18 trillion by the end of September 2015, exports had declined to over $ 12 billion during the first seven months (July-Jan) 2015-16 from over $ 14 billion during the same period of last year due to which the trade deficit had risen to over $15 billion during July to Feb 2015-16, energy shortage was still persisting affecting trade and industrial activities. This state of affairs demanded that all political leaders of the country should put their heads together and focus on developing a broad-based economic agenda with consensus to deal effectively with the economic challenges of the country.

 

He said our close neighbors China and India were emerging as strong economies, but the unsatisfactory performance of our major economic indicators demanded extraordinary measures to tackle the prevailing economic problems. He said government should focus on structural reforms and adopt a comprehensive approach with consensus of all stakeholders to address the key issues of the economy. It should fully cooperate with private sectors in its efforts for modernization of industry, and improving technology that would help in improving the competitiveness of our products and promoting exports.