LAHORE  -The Lahore and Khyber Pakhtunkhawa Chambers of Commerce and Industry on Saturday agreed to work jointly and pro-actively to pave way for a consensus and for the early construction of Kalabagh Dam.
The decision was made at a meeting between LCCI and KPKCCI here at the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry. LCCI President Engineer Sohail Lashari and KPKCCI President Zahidullah Shinwari also decided to take joint stand on all national issues being faced by the business community. The LCCI Vice President Kashif Anwar, KPKCCI Senior Vice President Muhammad Shafique and Vice President Muhammad Tamur Shah also spoke on the occasion.
Ongoing Energy Crisis, upcoming budget, Cumbersome Taxation Procedures and issue water scarcity were discussed in detail during the over two-hour long meeting. Both the Chambers also agreed to share sector-specific research with each other and to develop joint mechanism for preparation of taxation-related proposals. The LCCI would facilitate the KPKCCI and give necessary guidelines on all the issues of national importance. Speaking on the occasion, the President KPKCCI Zahidullah Shinwari said that the KPK is a gateway to Central Asian States therefore the businessmen from Punjab could get benefit from its expertise.
He agreed with the LCCI President that all the Chambers of Commerce and Industry in the country should prepare shadow budget this year instead of their respective budget proposals to guide the government as to how the economy could be put back on the track in shortest possible time.
In his address, the LCCI President Engineer Sohail Lashari threw light on the advantages of Kalabagh Dam and made a passionate appeal to the KPKCCI to extend maximum support on this mega project of immense national importance. The LCCI President said that the rain-fed Kalabagh Dam would not only be a great source of cheap electricity but it would also save the country from floods.
Unless and until a collective approach is adopted on all economic issues, the revival of economy would remain a dream, the LCCI President said. The LCCI President also paid rich tributes to the KPK businessmen for the steadfastness despite unprecedented challenges they had been facing for the last many years. He said that the LCCI would continue to extend every possible support their fellow businessmen of Khyber Pakhtunkhawa.
He said that the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry has very recently established an International Mediation Centre in collaboration with International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private arm of the World Bank.
The Mediation Centre is first of its kind in any chambers of commerce in the country and the KPKCCI could untilse the facility for its members.
The LCCI President also informed the delegates that the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry was very soon establishing conferencing facility at its premises to facilitate the business community to interact with their foreign counterparts.
The LCCI Executive Committee Members including Tanvir Ahmed Sufi, Mian Tasharraf Javaid and Chaudhry Muhammad Aslam also attended the meeting.