Islamabad, October 01, 2021 (PPI-OT):The meeting was attended by Finance Minister Shaukat Fayyaz Tareen, Industries and Production Minister Makhdoom Khusro Bakhtiar, Advisor on Commerce and Investment Abdul Razzak Dawood, SAPM on Health Dr Faisal Sultan, SAPM on Political Communication Dr Shabaz Gill, CEO Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistani (DRAP) Asim Rauf, representatives of Pharmaceutical and Salt sectors and senior officers concerned.

The Prime Minister was briefed on the potential of diversification of exports, especially in salt and pharmaceutical sectors. The Prime Minister was briefed that Pakistan is lucky to be blessed with all types of salt available in the world. These include rock salt, sea salt and lake salt. With a reserve size of 6.2 Billion tons, Khewra Salt Mine is the second largest salt range in the world. Pakistan has also sea salt reserves along 1050 KM long coastline.

Almost 60% of total 350 Million tons global salt consumption is made by the chemical industry. Pakistan’s current annual salt production is 4 Million tons, whereas just 3 lac tons are being exported each year. Hub Salt and Governments of Balochistan has initiated a new Solar Salt Project to tap Pakistan’s huge potential in salt export.

This new Solar Salt Project will be the world’s largest salt works facility, and will boost the salt exports by $400 Million in 2023 and will continue to grow by $200 Million per annum in subsequent years. Moreover, it was told that currently Pakistan’s pharmaceutical exports are worth $275 Million with a growth potential of $74.3 Billion.

This growth potential can be materialised by investing in the machinery and equipments, streamlining the registration process for Pakistani medicines, entering into Joint Ventures with reputed Multinational Companies (MNCs), and the appointment of sales and marketing teams in international markets for brand building.

The Prime Minister directed the authorities concerned to take all necessary measures to exploit full potential of exports diversification in salt and pharmaceutical sectors. The Prime Minister reiterated that the government is focused on creating business friendly environment in the country for further strengthening the economy and increasing employment opportunities. The Prime Minister emphasized that business community should adopt modern technologies to achieve maximum value addition.

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