ISLAMABAD - Asad Elahi, Chief Executive Officer, Engineering Development Board, has said that EDB has prepared a draft report on Export Marketing Plan for five years targeting to unexplored regions of Africa, South Asia, Middle East and Latin America, which will help businessmen in exploring and exploiting business potential in these countries. He said this while giving a detailed presentation at Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry about the potential of engineering industry on Tuesday. He said 16 African countries were a good market for Pakistani engineering products due to similar climatic conditions and Pakistani entrepreneurs should accelerate their efforts to tap this huge market of US$ 165 billion. Asad Elahi said EDB was working with Federal Board of Revenue for reviewing SROs on customs duty, sales tax, withholding tax and federal excise duty for making them user friendly so that engineering sector could be further facilitated in its forward march. He said EDB was engaged to enhance capacity building of engineering industry, improve competitiveness of engineering products, reduce cost of inputs and encourage local production and consumption of locally manufactured goods. EDB in consultation with stakeholders has also taken policy initiatives to make business-friendly policies for steel, foundry, auto and electronic industries, he added. President ICCI Zahid Maqbool said that Government should take urgent measures to reduce the cost of doing business and promote engineering and other industries. He said European Union countries were earning US $360 billion, Latin American countries US $375 billion, African countries US $152 billion and India US $35 billion from the export of engineering goods whereas Pakistans share in the overall global trade for the engineering goods stood at just 0.013 percent, which was very disappointing. He said share of engineering goods in world trade was 65 percent and Pakistan should focus on promoting engineering industry instead of relying on textile exports, which had only 5 percent share in global trade.