Ahsan Zafar Bakhtawari, President, Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry welcomed the constitution of an Industry Advisory Council led by Dr. Gohar Ejaz, Federal Minister for Commerce to formulate the country’s industrial policy and stressed that the new industrial policy should be supportive of the SMEs. Ahsan Bakhtawari said that SMEs are the backbone of our economy as besides promoting the economic activities and exports, they play a vital role in job creation, poverty reduction, and innovation. Therefore, it is very important that the new industrial policy should focus on supporting the SMEs so that these businesses could play a more effective role in reviving the economy. He said that the new industrial policy should ensure easier access to finance for SMEs for expansion and growth and help in their capacity building. He said that the new industrial policy should offer good incentives for SMEs to adopt modern technologies and digital solutions in order to improve their productivity and competitiveness. He said that market access is a major issue for SMEs in Pakistan and the new industrial policy should envisage measures to connect SMEs with domestic and international markets, simplify export procedures for these businesses and provide SMEs support in meeting the quality and compliance standards. ICCI President said that the new industrial policy should focus on simplification of regulatory requirements for SMEs and provide them a single-window solution for various approvals and permits. He said that the reliable and affordable energy supply to SMEs is the key for their smooth growth and stressed that the new industrial policy should address this major issue. He said that an enabling environment for SMEs would pave the way for Pakistan to achieve sustainable economic growth and stride forward towards better progress and prosperity.