President Alvi urges chambers to make women part of economic activities

ISLAMABAD, Feb 20 (APP): President Dr Arif Alvi Monday called upon chambers of commerce and industry to include women at all levels of economic activity as part of efforts to boost the nation’s economy.
Speaking at a ceremony organized by the Rawalpindi Chamber of Small Traders and Small Industries here, he said he was continuously urging chambers of commerce to create opportunities for women to run businesses and become leaders in industry.
Women should be encouraged to play their part in all aspects of social, political and economic endeavours, he said adding women should be helped to move to upper echelons of the decision-making bodies including Parliament and business organizations.
Before the industrial revolution, he said small and medium businesses were the foundation of a human society, adding after the advent of electricity and steam engine a large industry was established.
He said in the western world majority of the businesses were small and medium-sized while in Pakistan the percentage was 70 percent of the economy.
Economies like China moved ahead economically on the basis of their cottage industry which was the mainstay of their supply chains for all kinds of goods, he maintained.
He also cited the example of India, where in the city of Jaipur, 35,000 women worked in the diamond cutting industry and were able to process and refine the diamonds after short duration training.
The President emphasized the need to develop skill sets of people especially of those who were deprived of education.
By developing different skill sets, people would be able to earn living for themselves and take part in the economic development of the country, he noted.
The President pointed out that the sector of information technology had assumed great importance in today’s world as IT was one of the main prongs of every profession as it was also widely used for marketing of products and services and to find new clients and markets.
President Dr Alvi appreciated role of the traders in helping the nation overcome challenges including floods and the COVID 19 pandemic.
He said wealth should not be hoarded or invested in foreign countries but should be circulated in Pakistani society so that people could get benefit from the increased economic activity.
He said those who were indulging in tax evasion and were taking wealth abroad should be held accountable, adding every Pakistani was paying taxes but still the society was plagued with problems of poverty and economic deprivation.
He said corruption had become a menace and corrupt elements were not being punished which was a major dilemma for society.
Quaid e Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah in 1945 stated that dishonesty and corruption had taken root in society and nepotism had weakened the moral fiber of people, he added.
He said a newly elected government with a fresh mandate from the people could steer the country out of present-day challenges, adding any effort to delay the elections would weaken democracy.
The President was of the view that the United States was a strong country because of its vibrant democracy and elections were not delayed there even at times when the country was faced with civil wars and violence.
He congratulated the chamber for recognizing its members for their achievements and contributions in different sectors of the economy, adding acknowledgment would inspire other businessmen to achieve distinction in their fields.
President Rawalpindi Chamber of Small Traders and Small Industries Tariq Khan Jadoon highlighted the achievements of his chamber and talked about problems faced by the business community.
Earlier the President gave away appreciation shields to traders and industrialists who had earned distinction in their respective businesses.