|
|
|
|
|
The Senate's Special Committee (SSC) on "CHALLENGES OF WTO", which met here
today under the chairmanship of the Federal Minister for Privatisation &
Investment Dr. Abdul Hafeez Shaikh proposed to revisit the subsidiaries issue
as WTO allowed them and it was due to the conditionality of the International
monetary institutions and the donor agencies.
The SSC also agreed to enhance the capacity in the government departments to
deal with the WTO related issues. For economic development it was imperative
to
extend subsidiaries to the smaller entrepreneurs for improving their
efficiencies, quality and the services, the members opined.
The Special Committee stressed the need to create awareness at the gross root
level for better understanding of the WTO regime, enabling the stakeholders at
all level for comprehensive preparedness.
Earlier, the CEO, Traits Center for WTO & Business Studies Mr. Muhammad Abbas
Raza and Director Coordinator, WTO Watch Group Dr. Zafar Mirza while briefing
the Senate Body on the Challenges confronting Pakistan in the wake of WTO
regime and their solutions underlined the need for pre & post monitoring
studies of the issue and said that the global economic regime being unfolded
had become a compulsion for the developing countries, though it could
contribute to the eradication of poverty but it had many other implications.
They suggested that before signing any international treaty the same should be
discussed in the parliament. The TRIPS provisions safeguards the public health
interests and there was no need to reopen the patent regime issue and Pakistan
should implement the WTO provisions to take benefit from the system, they
said.
They further stated that poverty friendly goods did not qualify any country
for MFN status as it involved legal and economic hazards. The clan dative
market access and unwarranted and unlimited presence of items through
smuggling and under invoicing need to be checked effectively, they added.
The members of the Special Committee including Senators Nisar Ahmad Memon, Dr.
Muhammad Akbar Khawaja, Lt. Gen. Retd Javed Ashraf, Muhammad Azam Khan Swati,
Miss. Anisa Zeb Tahirkheli, Mir Muhammad Naseer Mengal, Mrs. Roshan Khursheed
Bharucha, Ch. Muhammad Anwar Bhinder and the Secretary SSC Mr. Iftikharullah
Babar were present in the meeting.
The SSC had so far gathered proposals from the representatives of Federation
of Pakistan Chamber of Commerce & Industries (FPCCI), All Pakistan Textile
Mills Association (APTAMA), Food, Agriculture & Livestock sectors, State
Engineering Corporation, Pakistan Engineering Development Board, Pakistan
Automobile Motors Association and the Pharmaceutical Association who made
presentations on challenges confronting Pakistan's Engineering, Automobile,
Pharmaceutical industries and experts.