The Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry (ICCI) and the Trade Development of Pakistan (TDAP) have discussed to organize jointly a Spring Festival in Islamabad to provide a better platform for promotion of business activities. For this purpose, Muhammad Irfan, Director, TDAP Islamabad visited ICCI and held a meeting with Ahmed Hassan Moughal President, Rafat Farid Senior Vice President and Iftikhar Anwar Sethi Vice President ICCI to hold the said festival with joint efforts. Muhammad Irfan said that TDAP has been cooperating with private sector in promoting business activities and hoped that the Spring Festival in Islamabad would provide a good opportunity to local traders and industrialists to enhance business prospects. He said that ICCI should send exclusive trade delegations to foreign countries for exploring new avenues of promoting Pakistan’s trade and exports and assured that TDAP would provide support in sending such delegations. Both sides also discussed to cooperate with each other in various trade promotion activities. Both sides reaffirmed to develop strong coordination between public and private sectors in pursuits aimed at improving the country’s economy. Speaking at the occasion, Ahmed Hassan Moughal, President, Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry said that ICCI was already planning to organize a Spring Festival in Islamabad and hoped that the cooperation of TDAP would make it a successful venture. He said that the local industry will have to face stiff competition from Chinese counterparts in coming days and stressed that the government should cooperate in balancing, modernization and rehabilitation of industrial sector so that it could produce value added products and contribute more effectively in promoting exports. Rafat Farid Senior Vice President and Iftikhar Anwar Sethi Vice President, Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry said that the local industry including steel sector has to pay overall 40 percent duty and taxes on the import of machinery and emphasized that the government should reduce import duties to facilitate the upgradation of local industry. They said that sustainable economic policies were the key requirement to promote business activities. They also demanded that the government should formulate a National Business Policy to facilitate the better growth of business activities. Published in Daily Times, November 17th 2018.