Federal Minister for Maritime Affairs Ali Zaidi has planned to transform Pakistan's economy by incremental increases in contribution by Ports and transit economy connecting Pakistan's coasts to landlocked neighbors through corridors. For achieving this goal, the honorable Minister has in the past few months tried to not only strengthen the incumbent structure, but also devised plans to invest in projects that will pay in the long run. In a series of meetings with important figures, The Minister for Maritime Affairs called on Chief Minister of Balochistan in Quetta to have discussions on three point agenda. Optimization of Gawadar port: Recognizing the fact that Gawadar, due to its geography and potential to handle cargo has an integral role in China-Pakistan Economic corridor, the minister expressed his intent of inclusion of the highest possible indigenous population as a contributor in port handling operations. Both discussed the plans for skill development programs for youth ready to be a part of Pakistan's workforce and those who are already working but lack the standard skills. As unanimously decided in a recent meeting of the standing committee for Maritime Affairs, the fishermen will be skilled for deep sea fishing. Development of Coastal Tourism: The Federal Minister reiterated the importance of the development of coastal tourism on the sandy beaches of Balochistan. He observed that these sites have a huge potential for Foreign Direct Investment. With the improvement in the security situation of the region, tourism will flourish there if facilities are provided. For that all possible options were brought under consideration and soon the decisions will be announced. Once the local will start to draw economic benefits from the proposed influx, the worries of the Baloch people will fade away. Challenges Faced by Our Fishermen: Fishing near the coast falls under the ambit of the provincial Government. The Federal Government will assist in this respect with the skill development programs to bring fishing at par with the international standards, i.e. the techniques that contribute towards the conservation of the species and at the same time drawing economic benefit from it. Deep Sea Fishing requires more skilled personnel with machinery. These requirements will be met and indigenous fishermen will be encouraged to be a part of this economic activity. Processing plants will be installed in the future to boost supply of the products in Pakistan and export around the globe. Both the Chief Minister Balochistan Jam Kamal and Federal Minister for Maritime Affairs Ali Zaidi agreed that the collaborative efforts between the Federation and the Federating units will help Pakistan to be one of the leading economies in the near future.
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