ISLAMABAD (Kashmir English): Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday directed the relevant authorities to formulate and present a comprehensive plan for establishing Centers of Excellence and accelerating the development of the precious stones and gems sector to boost exports.
A review meeting was held in Islamabad today under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Shehbaz regarding the development of the precious stones and gems sector and steps to increase its exports, the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement.
In the meeting, the Prime Minister was given a detailed briefing on the progress of the pilot project for the exploration, cutting and preparation of precious stones for exports after their value addition.
PM expressed his anger over the slow pace of preparation of the pilot project for precious stones and gems and the delay in taking steps for the development of the sector, the statement added.
Speaking at the meeting, the Prime Minister said that measures regarding the development of the precious stones and gems sector are a priority and delay of any kind is unacceptable. “A complete ecosystem of value addition should be developed through mining and carving of precious stones.”
The premier further instructed to establish “Brand Pakistan” for precious stones and gems, and the establishment of Centers of Excellence for Value Addition.
According to the statement, the meeting was informed that 4.8 kanals of land have been procured for the Center of Excellence project in Hussainabad, Skardu, while funds are available for the project, and the construction will start soon.
The meeting was further informed that land has been identified for the project in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) and Islamabad. The work will be fully operational at an alternative location until the Center of Excellence is built in Islamabad.
Officials said Rs1 billion had been allocated for the sector under the Public Sector Development Programme this year. Export facilitation desks had also been established at 80 branches of 10 banks across seven cities to assist exporters.
It was further informed that the geological mapping of the identified areas for precious stones and gems has been completed, which includes 8 new blocks in Gilgit-Baltistan, while AJK and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have been identified for further work on the discovery of precious stones.
The Prime Minister directed to prepare and present a comprehensive action plan for the establishment of Centers of Excellence for precious stones and gems and measures for the development of the sector next week.
The meeting was attended by Federal Ministers Jam Kamal Khan, Dr. Mosaddiq Masood Malik, Ahad Khan Cheema, Ahsan Iqbal, Attaullah Tarar, Ali Pervez Malik, Advisor to the Prime Minister Haroon Akhtar, Minister of State Bilal Azhar Kayani, and relevant senior officials.
