The federal government incurs annual expenses of Rs. 1,000 million to pay salaries and other expenses of trade and investment officers (TIOs) in Pakistan’s Trade missions abroad.
Despite spending huge money on the salaries of these trade officers, there has been little improvement in the country’s exports and foreign direct investment.
According to an official document, currently, 57 trade officers are currently posted in Pakistan’s missions abroad. The performance of TIOs is evaluated against key performance indicators on a number of parameters including i) increase in Pakistan’s exports, (ii) trade promotion, (iii) trade diplomacy, (iv) market intelligence reports, (v) trade dispute resolution, individual firm support, (vi) intellectual property, branding, etc., and (vii) support for SIFC initiatives and investment.
These officers are posted in countries such as the US, UK, China, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, and Bangladesh.
During 10MFY24, Pakistan’s exports stood at $25.279 billion (provisional) against $23.171 billion during the corresponding period of last year, showing an increase of 9 percent.
Time to shut down these trade offices.