LAHORE: President Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) Kashif Anwar has said that the economic conditions are challenging and the government needs to support the business sector by reducing electricity prices and simplifying the tax system. This would enable the business community to play a significant role in the country’s economic recovery and increase the exports.
He expressed these views while addressing a delegation from the Faisalabad Women Chamber, led by its President Rubina Amjad.
FPCCI Vice President Qurat-ul-Ain, former President and Chairperson of the Standing Committee on Trade and Export Development Sobia Aqeel, former senior vice president Shahida Iqbal and others were present.
The LCCI president said that the government must take special measures for women entrepreneurs and LCCI was already doing a lot in this regard. Kashif Anwar said that LCCI, as the premier chamber of commerce in the country, was actively empowering women and promoting their development in every field. There w
ere approximately 2,000 women members of the LCCI and their number was increasing significantly every year, he added.
President Faisalabad Women Chamber Rubina Amjad, emphasised that to improve the country’s economic situation, women, who constitute more than half of the population, need to fully utilise their capabilities. She said that women entrepreneurs should be given facilities and incentives to increase exports from Faisalabad.
The LCCI President informed the delegation that LCCI had established a Women Empowerment Lounge (WEL) to address the business issues of women entrepreneurs. Additionally, a women entrepreneurs display corner had been set up to display the products made by women from the cottage industry and SME sector. He mentioned that LCCI celebrates International Women’s Day on a large scale every year.
He informed the delegation that LCCI had signed numerous Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with hospitals, diagnostic laboratories, educational and other institutions, which had provided
many facilities to LCCI members. Many federal and provincial government departments had also established facilitation centres at LCCI under the one window operation.
The LCCI president further said that most of the non-traditional sectors of the economy were associated with women. It was crucial to facilitate their access to international exhibitions where they could showcase products like handicrafts, pottery, embroidery, traditional jewelry and handmade textiles, he added and said that many countries, including Japan, China, South Korea, Vietnam, UAE and Bangladesh had included women in economic activities, resulting in rapid development compared to other countries. ‘We need to work on a similar model,’ he added.