Pakistan to set up Gems and Jewelry City
The objective is to exploit the full potential of gems and jewelry export worth $5 billion
Pakistan has decided to set up a Gems and Jewelry City to tap the full potential of $5 billion annual export by providing a one-window facility.
The government will set up a Gems and Jewelry City to pool resources, provide one-stop operations to address the problems facing the sector and provide incentives to investors.
Initially, it will adopt a public-private partnership model using existing resources. Pakistan will also receive sector-related certifications for access to international markets.
It will not only clarify the standards of not only precious stones but also precious metals but will bring the current standards up to international standards.
Prime Minister Imran Khan chaired a meeting of the James, Jewelry, and Minerals Task Force.
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Task Force gave a detailed briefing on the establishment of Mineral City. An area has been identified for the chemical and mineral industry in Pakistan where industrial value addition from crude minerals will not only help reduce imports but also increase foreign exchange from exports.
Federal Minister for Industry Makhdoom Khusro Bakhtiar, Special Assistant Dr. Shahbaz Gul, Chairman Gems and Jewelry Task Force Engineer Gul Asghar Khan, Atif Khan, members of the task force, and relevant senior officers attended a meeting.
During the meeting, Task Force made recommendations to the Prime Minister on the restructuring of the Gems, Jewelry, and Minerals Division and the proposed Mineral City.
It informed Pakistan has a potential of $5 billion annually in terms of exports of precious stones which will have a positive impact on the national economy and create millions of jobs.
Pakistan currently has reserves of 99 types of precious stones and is the eighth largest producer in the world. Moreover, according to conservative estimates, Pakistan consumes 200 tons of gold annually. With effective legislation and better management of this sector, the government will transform this sector into a major export industry.
The government has given Gems and Jewelry as industry status and will ensure its implementation as per the strategy of the task force.
In order to increase exports, it will give special attention to promote exports and ask Pakistani embassies to provide assistance in this regard.
Task Force informed despite the availability of research resources in this field, there is no significant progress. According to the strategy, the government will introduce all modern standards to bring in research in this sector.
The Prime Minister said on the occasion that the government was restructuring the sector with modern technology by changing the traditional practices of the minerals and precious stones sector.
The premier further directed to utilize all the resources and work out a regular schedule for the implementation of this strategy. He also instructed to remove the existing barriers for investors as well.
