Pakistan’s leading business figures have pledged to step up investment and help expand exports after meeting Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to discuss the country’s economic outlook.
The meeting brought together prominent members of the business community, including Arif Habib, Umar Saeed, Jazz CEO Aamir Ibrahim, Shahzad Saleem and Javed Balwani.
Arif Habib said the Prime Minister called the business community together to review the economy’s progress and discuss the government’s policies.
He said businesses had appreciated the measures introduced in the federal budget and the government’s efforts to engage with the private sector.
Habib expressed optimism that Pakistan would attract more investment and record stronger export growth during the current year. He added that the government had indicated it wanted to work with businesses through a partnership-based approach.
Umar Saeed said the government had implemented several proposals put forward by the business community during the budget discussions.
He said business leaders had responded by expressing their willingness to make additional investments. Saeed also praised the level of coordination between the business community and the cabinet.
Aamir Ibrahim said increasing exports was a major focus of the meeting. While traditional industries remained part of the discussion, he said particular attention was given to emerging sectors.
According to Ibrahim, telecommunications, digital infrastructure and artificial intelligence were among the key areas discussed.
He said Pakistan should accelerate efforts to develop AI infrastructure, including data centres and AI-focused facilities, and build the capacity to export technology and intelligence-based services alongside traditional products such as textiles.
Shahzad Saleem also described the meeting as positive, saying the Prime Minister listened to the concerns and recommendations presented by business leaders.
He said the Prime Minister took note of the issues raised and issued directions on some matters to ensure they are addressed.
Saleem called for such meetings to be held regularly, saying continued engagement between the government and industry could help resolve problems more quickly.
Javed Balwani pointed to steps taken to improve coordination with businesses, including the opening of Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and Pakistan Revenue Automation Limited (PRAL) offices in Karachi and Lahore.
He said regular meetings with the business community should continue because they allow the Prime Minister to take decisions on industry-related issues.
Balwani expressed hope that continued government-business coordination would contribute to higher exports and improvements in the wider economy.
The meeting comes as the government looks to strengthen private-sector investment and exports while developing newer growth areas, particularly AI, telecommunications and digital infrastructure.
