Commerce Minister, World Bank Advance Agenda for Export Competitiveness

Federal Minister for Commerce Jam Kamal Khan and World Bank team on Wednesday met to discuss Pakistan’s export reform agenda, focusing on strategies to enhance export competitiveness and streamline enabling policies.  The discussion also addressed how the World Bank can support these initiatives under the broader country program.  Khan highlighted the whole-of-government approach to export enhancement, which promotes a unified policy framework to improve competitiveness and the Ease of Doing Business for exporters.   This strategy emphasizes export-led growth by providing crucial enabling factors such as financing, liquidity support, reduced input costs, and regulatory facilitation to empower Pakistan’s export sector.  The World Bank reiterated its support for Pakistan’s Trade and Investment Officers (TIOs) stationed in Missions abroad and its commitment to collaborating on knowledge-sharing initiatives to strengthen Pakistan’s global trade connections.   The minister also noted the recent establishment of 17 Sectoral Councils by the Ministry of Commerce, aimed at bolstering private sector involvement in policy development—a move warmly appreciated by the World Bank team for its potential to enrich the policymaking process.  Both sides agreed to form a joint working group on trade, set to meet periodically, to advance the goal of realizing Pakistan’s export potential of $60 billion.