The Lahore Chamber of Commerce & Industry (LCCI) and Sialkot Chamber of Commerce & Industry (SCCI) have agreed to make joint efforts for the promotion of trade and industry. The decision was taken at a meeting between the LCCI acting president Amjad Ali Jawa, vice-president Nasir Hameed Khan and the delegation of SCCI, led by the member executive committee and chairman standing committee on martial arts & fitness Zaeem Raza. Ijaz Ghouri, Muhammad Akhtar and Aashir Elahi also spoke on the occasion.

Both the bodies agreed to evolve a unified strategy on the issues of common interests. Both the chambers would share and exchange all trade-related data for increasing the competitiveness of goods and reducing the cost of doing business. LCCI and SCCI would also cooperate in finalization of proposals for economic uplift of the country and conducting joint research to develop industries in Lahore and Sialkot.

Amjad Ali Jawa said that both the chambers would forward joint proposals to the federal government ahead of presentation of annual budget. He said that efforts would also be made for attracting investment for reconstruction of opportunities zones. Muhammad Nasir Hameed Khan said that the Lahore Chamber had earlier signed MoU with Chambers of Faisalabad, Rawalpindi, Bahawalpur, Sahiwal, Sargodha and Sarhad.

Zaeem Raza said that collaboration between Sialkot and Lahore Chambers would go a long way in resolving the issues being faced by the business community. He said the issues of refunds and duty drawback should be resolved at the earliest.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2017