ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday launched the first digital registry of Pakistani investment laws and rules, greenlighting what his government described as the country’s “largest reform initiative” aimed at improving business climate in the country, state media reported on Thursday.
Last year, the South Asian state set up the Special Investment Facilitation Council, a civil-military hybrid body specially tasked to promote investment in the country, particularly from Gulf nations, with a focus on the energy, agriculture, mining, minerals, information technology and aviation sectors.
In recent months, there has been a flurry of visits, investment talks and economic activity between Pakistan and its allies, including Saudi Arabia, the UAE and China as well as the landlocked Central Asian states for whom Pakistan hopes to become a pivotal trade and transit hub.
“Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has approved the launch of the largest ever reform program for Ease of Doing Business in Pakistan,” Radio Pakistan said, reporting on a meeting chaired by the premier on ease of doing business.
“Under this program, the establishment of the first digital registry of Pakistani laws and regulations for the promotion of business and investment was also approved.”
The digital registry will be responsible for consolidating and digitizing all existing laws and regulations for investment in the country while all “unnecessary rules and regulations hindering investment” would be abolished, Radio Pakistan said, adding that digitization would reduce the time required for registration and permits and also remove bureaucratic hurdles.
At Thursday’s meeting, Sharif thanked international organizations for funding the digital registry project and directed them to finalize an agreement, Radio Pakistan added, without mentioning which international bodies were involved in the project.
Sharif also set up a special committee for the implementation of the project, instructing concerned authorities and ministries to ensure timely and practical implementation of policy measures.
