Karachi, February 04, 2020: Senior leader of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf and former Vice President of FPCCI, Fehmida Jamali on Tuesday said that the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry’s nomination for the executive committee in SAARC Countries Chamber of Commerce seems to be politically motivated, which has clearly set aside the country’s image and regional trade.
“Jamali urged Prime Minister Imran Khan and Minister for Foreign Affairs Shah Mahmood Qureshi to intervene in this matter immediately and make necessary directions to FPCCI on revisiting the list of names as it’s a matter of the country reputation”.
She said Pakistan stood as a novel example where politics had stifled the traders. This is the reason that our exports are continuously falling while regional competitors in the SAARC region like Bangladesh and India, are enjoying positive growth.
She further said that in a FPCCI letter sent to SAARC Chamber headquarters dated January 21st, 2020 with a copy to Ministry of foreign Affairs; it was clearly showed that except two to three names, rest all the nominated personalities of the executive committee who will represent Pakistan in SAARC chamber of commerce was neither have due knowledge on regional trade, neither they have a rich background of international trade diplomacy and they have due expertise to interact with a SAARC Governmental functionaries”.
Despite India’s nomination on SAARC Chamber for the executive committee through FICCI and Confederation of Indian Industry have a combination of brains who have a versatile knowledge of industries, corporate sector and command to sell India’s point of view in the apex trade body of the SAARC.
She said SAARC Chamber of commerce is an important platform for Pakistan to lobby the country’s business prospect in an appropriate way and it was expected FPCCI under its new President Mian Anjum Nisar may show some maturity on these matters, but when we look on the list of the names, it was clearly understandable that President FPCCI pleased the personalities on political grounds which is unethical.
“What we may tell the SAARC countries that we don’t have at least ten dynamic business personalities in our country who may represent Pakistan in apex trade forum as a member of the executive committee,” she questioned?
It may also recall here that at the National Federations of Chambers of Commerce and Industry of SAARC countries together at the second meeting of Chambers of Commerce & Industry of the developing countries (G-77) in New Delhi in December 1988.
In that meet a memorandum of understanding was signed among the representatives expressing their intention and desire to establish the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of SAARC countries for the promotion of trade and industry in the SAARC region and to develop and achieve common objectives in these areas.
However the official recognition of the SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SAARC CCI) by all the national governments of SAARC as the apex body of all the National Federations of Chambers of Commerce and Industry of SAARC countries; namely Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce & Industry( ACCI), The Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FBCCI), Bhutan Chamber of Commerce & Industry (BCCI), Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI), Maldives National Chamber of Commerce & Industry (MNCCI), Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FNCCI), Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FPCCI) and Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Sri Lanka (FCCISL).
