The Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI) has urged the government to promote non-conventional sectors like gems and jewelry.
The RCCI president Nadeem Rauf said in a statement that the government should come forward and add incentives to reduce taxes on the import of machinery and other raw materials used in this sector. He added that Pakistan is rich in natural resources of gems and stones.
Pakistan always focused on traditional sectors to increase exports, however, we must look for new opportunities and sectors like gems and jewellery to attract foreign investment as countries like Thailand, Sri Lanka, and Central Asian states have shown interest, he added.
He informed that the chamber is going to organize a gems and jewellery exhibition in the third week of May in Islamabad. The main purpose of this expo was to attract foreign investment in non-conventional sectors like gems and jewellery and to promote small and medium enterprises (SMEs), he added.
He said that the exhibition would provide an opportunity for the businessmen to showcase the best of Pakistani gemstones, diamonds, jewellery, and mineral specimens from across the country.
Rauf informed that Pakistan has an enormous wealth of expensive gems such as ruby, emerald, tourmaline, garnet, topaz, peridot, aquamarine, and spinel among others.
