The nationwide goods transport strike entered its seventh day on Friday with no agreement reached so far, despite Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah saying the deadlock was close to being resolved, transporters told RBN.

Speaking at the 79th Independence Day flag-hoisting ceremony hosted by the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), the chief minister said negotiations had made significant progress and that only a few outstanding issues remained.

He directed the Sindh Transport Department to speed up efforts to settle the remaining matters so that disruptions affecting transporters, industries and businesses could end as soon as possible.

On the sidelines of the event, a delegation of the Goods Transporters Association, led by Tariq Gujjar, met Murad Ali Shah, who assured them that the provincial government was working to address their concerns.

Addressing the business community, the chief minister said Pakistan had the potential to raise annual exports from around $30 billion to $100 billion by lowering the cost of doing business and improving industrial competitiveness.

He said Sindh’s vast reserves of Thar coal, along with its solar, wind and natural gas resources, could provide affordable energy for industries and reduce manufacturing costs.

Murad Ali Shah said Pakistan had demonstrated its strength in security and diplomacy and must now focus on winning the economic front through cooperation between the government and the private sector.

Earlier, Businessmen Group Chairman Zubair Motiwala said the $100 billion export target was achievable if Pakistan reduced production costs to levels comparable with regional competitors such as India, Bangladesh and Cambodia. He urged the government to conduct a comprehensive comparison of manufacturing costs to identify factors affecting the competitiveness of Pakistani exports.