HYDERABAD   -   President, Federation of Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industries (FPCCI) Irfan Iqbal Shaikh on Tuesday said that there were many business opportunities and capabilities in the country but there was a need for sustainable policies.

Pakistan needs a national economic and trade policy that could not be affected by the change of governments and we are going to present a Charter of Economy in this regard, ”he said while addressing a dinner hosted by the Hyderabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (HCCI). He asked all political parties, the government and other stakeholders to work with them in formulating an economic and trade policy that would meet the challenges of the times to come.

Irfan Iqbal Sheikh said that the economic situation of the country is not better and our priority should be to end the economic crisis instead of the political crisis. With strong determination and the best strategy we can get out of the crisis, he said, adding that the government and political parties should work together with them to formulate an economic and trade policy that would enable the country to move towards development.  He suggested the political parties form shadow cabinets and prepare shadow budgets so that with the coordination of all stakeholders the country could be brought on the path of development.

He said that the electricity and gas issues and rising prices of petroleum products were affecting the economy of the country and the upward trend of the dollar rate was also increasing our debt burden.

Irfan Iqbal Sheikh said that if the dollar rises by one rupee then the debt of the country increases by 80 million which severely affects economic conditions and tough decisions were needed to save the country’s economy. Sheikh said that there were more and more opportunities in food and IT industries and in order to improve the economy, it was necessary to increase exports and reduce imports. He emphasised the need to address the grievances of farmers and set priorities for increasing agricultural production. He said that the FPCCI was planning to organise an international economic conference for which a decision would soon be made.

Irfan Sheikh congratulated the new leadership of Hyderabad Chamber of Commerce and hoped that the team would solve the problems of traders and industrialists. The central Chairman of the Businessmen Panel Anjum Nisar, Vice Presidents FPCCI Haji Yaqub, Engineer Abdul Jabbar, President of HCCI Adeel Siddiqui, Mirza Iqbal Baig and others also addressed on the occasion.