ISLAMABAD, Apr 22 (APP): Federal Minister for Maritime Affairs Syed Ali Haider Zaidi on Thursday said that through loans under the Kamyab Jawan programme, Seafarers will be able to have their own boats and better equip themselves to raise their standard of living.
He stated this while addressing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signing ceremony with Banks under Prime Minister’s Kamyab Jawan Initiative for Seafarers, said a press release issued here.
At the occasion, the minister spoke about the challenges of the fishery sector in Pakistan and how in the past it has been used as a means to loot and plunder which also resulted in the exploitation of the fishermen community who used to work for big vessels but their standard of living never improved.
Explaining the idea behind this initiative, he spoke about Prime Minister’s vision of uplifting the poor and underprivileged of the society. .
Talking about exports and how all Prime Minister Imran Khan’s policies are designed to increase foreign exchange in the country, he vowed to increase Pakistan’s Fishery export to over 2 Billion Dollars compared to current 450 Million Dollars.
Also while referring to Prime Minister’s passion for the protection of environment, he spoke about Marine Pollution, the untreated water that goes into our Sea in Sindh province, has destroyed the marine life and needs serious attention from all authorities.
In the end he thanked the banks (Habib Bank Ltd, Bank of Punjab, National Bank and Bank Alfalah) for stepping forward and for signing this MoU with Ministry of Maritime Affairs.