ISLAMABAD: Pakistan plans to hold its first-ever maritime investment conference to attract local and international investors and strengthen the country’s blue economy, the government said on Tuesday.
The country is striving to modernize its ports and customs systems to improve efficiency, speed up cargo handling and facilitate businesses engaged in imports and exports, aiming to boost national revenue.
Earlier this year in August, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif directed officials to cut the time required to process containers to avoid congestion at port facilities.
The government not only wants a more efficient system for its own trade but also hopes to handle cargo from the landlocked Central Asian republics, giving them greater access to global markets through sea lanes.
“The upcoming conference will present both micro and macro investment opportunities to domestic and international investors across all ports and affiliated departments,” Federal Minister for Maritime Affairs Muhammad Junaid Anwar Chaudhry said, according to an official statement issued after a planning meeting.
