Think tank to promote industrialisation in Pakistan

Pakistan's top trade body, the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FPCCI), has established a think tank including members from the cement industry to promote industrialisation/export in the country.

Atif Ikram Sheikh, president of FPCCI, has formed a high-profile think tank of the apex organisation, comprising the nation’s top economic minds, governance specialists, industrialists, entrepreneurs, investors and exporters. The organisation will be called FPCCI’s Think Tank on Pakistan’s Economic Revival & Growth (FPCCI-PERG) and chaired by Dr Gohar Ejaz, former caretaker federal minister for finance, revenue and investments.

Atif Ikram Sheikh maintained that Pakistan’s entire business, industry, and trade community is united in its efforts to revive its economy. As the apex body, FPCCI has assembled an ensemble of Pakistan’s brightest minds.

The members of FPCCI-PERG will include the veteran industrialist Bashir Jan Mohammad; the capital markets czar Arif Habib (Power Cement’s serial entrepreneur Mohammad Ali Tabba (Lucky Cement), former Presidents of FPCCI Mian Muhammad Idrees & Ghazanfar Bilour, top exporter Dr Nouman Idrees Butt, CEO TDAP, Zubair Motiwala, Chairman APTMA, Asif Inam, and former president Lahore Chamber, Shahzad Ali Malik.

Shahid Abdullah, Fawad Mukhtar, Maqsood Ismail, Farooq Naseem and Shahzad Asghar Ali will also be part of FPCCI-PERG.

The think tank’s objectives are researching economic challenges and opportunities, formulating evidence-based policy recommendations for sustainable economic growth, and facilitating dialogue among the quadrilateral alliance of policymakers, industry, academia, and civil society. In-depth analysis and informed discourse will be the core values of the think tank.

Atif Ikram Sheikh apprised that all major sectors and industrial regions of the country will be represented by their best of the best, and FPCCI is all-willing to kickstart a result-oriented consultative process with the government on the federal budget 2024-25 and the economy's charter in light of its think tank's recommendations.