Amidst the pandemic blues, some bright light of hope is finally shining upon the forgotten land of South Punjab. To facilitate the southern Punjab business community and to promote the rewarding profitability of this region, Punjab Board of Investment and Trade came together with Multan Chamber of Commerce and Industry and established a “PBIT South Punjab Helpdesk” in chamber building.
In order to smoothen the way for local businesses, The Chairman Punjab Board of Investment & Trade expressed his desire for establishing the helpdesks at the local chambers of commerce and industry at every major city of Punjab. In this regard two board members from south Punjab, Sheikh Ahsan Rasheed and Jalaluddin Roomi took the lead and a collaboration with Multan Chamber of Commerce and Industry was initiated.
Punjab Board of Investment & Trade under the guidance of Chairman Sardar Tanveer Ilyas Khan, coordinated with MCCI to develop its “Forward Facilitation Base” to be housed in the building of Multan Chamber of Commerce and Industry. PBIT also took all chambers of the region including women chambers on board and invited them to be the part of the inauguration ceremony where presidents of these business and trade bodies pushed the button simultaneously to inaugurate this venture.
Special Assistant to the Chief Minister Punjab, Sardar Tanveer Ilyas Khan, Additional Chief Secretary South Punjab, Zahid Zaman, Commissioner Multan division Javed Akhtar, Chief Executive Officer PBIT Dr. Erfa Iqbal, President Multan Chamber of Commerce and Industry Khawaja Salahuddin, all the administrative secretaries of South Punjab, presidents of Bahawalpur, Khanewal, Vehari, Sahiwal, Dera Ghazi Khan, Rahim Yar Khan, Jhang chambers of commerce and industry, investor community, academia and community in a large number were present on this occasion.
Speaking on the occasion, Sardar Tanveer Ilyas Khan said that this was the first time in history that all leading chambers of commerce and industry including women bodies from eight leading districts across south Punjab came together and participated in this unique opportunity to uplift the economic outlook of this region. He said that now PBIT will work for the establishment of women specific economic zone in this region, which would empower the women presence in business climate of Pakistan.
CEO Punjab Board of Investment and Trade, Dr. Erfa Iqbal said that huge participation of businesswomen in this exclusive ceremony sent a message to the world that we are ready to embrace this empowerment, and will not leave any stone unturned to change the economic outlook of south Punjab. She presented the current landscape of southern Punjab in a comprehensive presentation and was optimistic about the future of the region.
President Multan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Khawaja Salahuddin said that more efforts are needed to be undertaken to bring resource-rich but left aside region into the development and progress cycle.
Renowned businessmen Sheikh Ahsan Rasheed, Khawaja Jalaludin Roomi, Additional Chief Secretary South Punjab Zahid Zaman, Commissioner Multan division Javed Akhtar also addressed the inauguration ceremony. All the speakers thanked Punjab Board of Investment and Trade for taking this important step to help deprived region and shown their keen interest in making this initiative a huge success by promoting business and investment activities in the region.