Pakistan’s blue economy can be driving force for growth, resilience: Dar

ISLAMABAD: Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Thursday said that Pakistan’s blue economy had the potential to become a driving force for national growth and resilience, citing the opportunities in fisheries and maritime trade to the exploration of offshore resources like petroleum and gas.

The deputy prime minister, addressing the International Maritime Business and Finance Conference, said that to enhance Pakistan’s share in the blue economy, efforts were being made under the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) to modernise the fisheries and shipbreaking industry using advanced technology.

He told the gathering that the government had already removed sales tax on fisheries processing plants and fishery seeds, the official news agency reported.

Highlighting the significant investment opportunities offered by the country’s ports, he said the oceans supported around 85 percent of global trade and also played a critical role in meeting the sustainable development agenda.

Dar said that as a maritime nation, Pakistan viewed the Arabian Sea as its fifth neighbour and a vital component of its economic and strategic paradigm. Pakistan’s unique geopolitical and geographical position offered immense potential for trade with economic zones offering opportunities for coastal tourism, aquaculture, biotechnology, energy, and health.

He said Pakistan was transforming ports into hubs of regional and international trade and efficient green transshipment as a maritime single window was operational to enhance the efficiency of ports.

The deputy prime minister said that Pakistan was committed to working for the environmental protection in the maritime industry and sought support from the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) to make Pakistan a hub of shipbreaking industry.

Highlighting the impacts of climate change on Pakistan like the 2022 flash floods despite the country’s minimal contribution to carbon emissions, the deputy prime minister said the government was committed to low-carbon alternative fuels and establishing green corridors.

Dar told the moot that as the government was taking several reformative measures like outsourcing major airports and privatising airlines with many investors in the pipeline for the ports industry too.

He said the system would collapse if the multilateral mechanisms failed to work and highlighted the Gaza situation where Israel’s barbarism continued despite the resolutions passed by the UN General Assembly and UN Security Council.

Earlier, in his address, IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Antonio Dominguez Velasco said Pakistan had great potential in trade, shipbuilding, recycling and labour workforce.

He said digitalisation was crucial to provide new technologies and ways of operating and enhancing connectivity besides improving the safety and operations of ports.

He also invited Pakistan to be a part of the IMO’s future projects related to safety and environmental protection.