PESHAWAR
All Pakistan Commercial Exporters Association (APCEA) in collaboration with USAID’s Economic Recovery & Development Activity (ERDA) organized a stakeholders’ engagement session for establishment of Gems City to promote gemstone exports from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa here on Thursday.
Besides, the Special Assistant to KP CM on Transport, Haji Rangez Khan, Javed Iqbal Khattak (ex.CEO KP-EZDMC), Chairman APCEA Iftikhar Ahmad, Dr Shakeel Kakakhel (USAID/ERDA), Dr Ashraf (Director, Gems Geological Survey of Pakistan, KP), Alamgir Khan (CEO NPO/JGM), Sartaj Ahmad Khan (Coordinator APCEA) and others addressed the participants of the session. Addressing the participants of the session, Javed Iqbal Khattak, former CEO Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Economic Zones Development and Management Company (KP-EZDMC) stressed need for initiation of concrete steps economic development and promotion of business activities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
He said that business opportunities in the province are stagnating due to peculiar situation and lack of official focus businesses are being transferred to other parts of the country.
He appreciated the efforts of APCEA for the establishment of the Gems’ City, which he said is longstanding demand of the gems sector businessmen and said that since last two decades they are struggling for the achievement of the goal. However, he said that the absence of the concerned authorities from the session is raising question mark on the interest of the provincial government in this regard.
Javed Khattak said that despite hardships various items are still being exported from the province, which should be encouraged.
He recalled that in past the holding of International Gems & Minerals’ Show and Apple Show were regular features of the province. But, the holding of such shows is stopped in the province.
He said that due to the lack of planning, carpet manufacturing which was once considered a profitable business in the province is also ended as the Afghan skilled labour force has been shifted to another neighbouring country.
He said that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is gifted with various natural resources particularly gems and minerals and stressed need for the utilization of the sector to optimum level. He announced full support to the efforts of APCEA for the establishment of Gems’ City and called for setting up of a modern and quality gems testing laboratory in the province to increase exports, beside generating economic uplift and employment opportunities.
On this occasion, Sartaj Ahmad Khan, the coordinator of APCEA also spoke of the lack of policy level consistency and unawareness about the importance of the sector.
He said that if state of the art laboratory of the gems’ sector could be established in India, Singapore and Dubai then why not such facilities could not be provided in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
