Minister for Science and Technology Mr. Shibli Faraz chaired a meeting on Import of scientific equipment and raw materials and discussed ways to make Pakistan self-reliant by promoting local industry and focusing on import substitution.
Mr. Shibli Faraz, in his opening remarks, said that the goal of the ministry is to ensure implementation of Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) policy to achieve sustainable development goals in line with vision of PM Imran Khan. He stated that the country is currently reliant on imported products and raw materials for its industrial needs and this must be fixed by following the fourth industrial revolution of the West. He said that his goal is to bring together triple helix; Research & Development, Industry, and Academia to boost import substitution.
The representatives from industry were of the view that government needs to provide protection to local manufacturing and make this import substitution a priority of the government. Energy efficient systems are being installed in the industry to achieve clean and sustainable industrial growth.
The representatives from NUST and PSF pointed out that funding needs to be increased in research and development sector that forms the base of every industrial revolution. Industrial mapping will be carried out to identify three to four initial testing stage projects and then on the basis of their results a comprehensive action plan will be developed. Three industrial sectors; agriculture, engineering, and electronics would be the main focus at this stage.
The minister told the stakeholders that industries will be identified in the follow-up meeting and a three to six months roadmap will be charted to proceed with the initial stage. He said that the new SME policy is a great initiative and the government will make sure to protect infant industry. He concluded by saying that all relevant stakeholders will be made part of this process to achieve these collective goals.
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