Islamabad,
July 15, 2019 (PPI-OT): “Blue Economy in Pakistan has a potential to generate
billions of dollars and inter-ministerial cooperation is indispensable to
achieve this goal”, said Federal Minister for Maritime Affairs chairing the
first meeting of Committee on Blue Economy recently formed by Prime Minister
Imran Khan. Vice Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Kaleem Shaukat and Deputy
Chief of Naval Staff, Rear Admiral Faisal Rasool Lodhi attended the meeting.
Representatives from Ministry of Railways, Defense, Defense Production,
Petroleum and Food Security were also present.
Emphasizing
the importance of Maritime sector, Ali Zaidi said that globally, the Blue
Economy is measured to be of approximately twenty three trillion dollars.
Pakistan’s potential to have a major share in the pie can be gauged by our
geographical position which is at the crossroads of major economic sea routes.
Our 1100KM coastline is blessed with enormous natural resources ready to be
harnessed.
Unfortunately,
this sector has been a victim of utter negligence of the previous governments.
He quoted the example of the New York Port Authority, which not only
contributed in building national assets, but also generates billions of dollars
in revenue annually. It is for the first time in the history of Pakistan that
the Minister for Maritime Affairs actively participates in ECC and CCOE, said
the Minister. Ministry of Maritime Affairs recently gave the shipping policy,
including tax exemptions for the shipping industry till 2030 for the growth of
this sector.
The
policy also includes a preference for flag carriers in berthing and strategic
freight carriage. Ali Zaidi also shared the plans for capacity building of
Pakistani fleet. “Countries like Philippine and India are generating
billions of dollars through their skilled seafarers” the minister said.
After the 18th Amendment, Fisheries went under the control of the provincial government.
The
Sindh government has ruined the fisheries industry by not developing the
infrastructure for value addition and by not regulating the fishing activities.
MOMA is taking concrete steps to ensure adoption of international best
practices in deep sea fishing. Prevention of waste disposal into sea both
sewage and solid waste was also deliberated upon in detail. The committee was
also made aware of the operations under MOMA for cleaning the coast. Plans were
shared to establish waste to energy plants and the concept of Green Port Scheme
was also discussed.
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