ISLAMABAD-In order to increase the country’s exports, Federal Minister for Planning, Development & Special Initiatives Professor Ahsan Iqbal on Tuesday directed the stakeholders concerned to expedite the process of establishment of 1000 Industrial Stitching Units (ISUs) in the country.
The minister made these directions while chairing a meeting to review a progress over establishment of 1000 ISUs to be established in the country. The meeting was attended by the Chief Economist, Member Oil and Gas, representatives from Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (SMEDA) and Ministry of Industries. Ahsan Iqbal asked for engaging the private sector in this regard. The minister said that the sustainable economic growth is possible only through increasing productivity that leads to more exports and higher economic growth. The top priority of the government is to increase the country’s exports while following the policies of exponential growth, said the minister, while urging the private sector to come forward and play their role. The govt will fully facilitate them while filling the missing links and to ensure the quality of equipment, said the minister while directing the relevant stakeholders to formulate a comprehensive plan in one week. It is noted that SMEDA will set up 1,000 ISUs under different phases of the PSDP. 
In the first phase, 150 such units will be established in three years. The key objective is to upgrade the garment industry by subsidizing machinery, employment for skilled and export promotion through value addition. The meeting was informed that 93 ISUs have been established in Pakistan which included 58 in Punjab, eight in Sindh, 15 in KP, 11 in Balochistan and one in GB. Total 1,208 job have been created through ISUs which included 112 in Punjab, 134 in Sindh, 179 in KP, 74 in Balochistan and 10 in GB while 68 percent sales have been increased through the first phase of the project.