Lahore Chamber of Commerce & Industry has welcomed Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif’s decision to constitute the National Economic Council (NEC) in a bid to deal with the financial crisis. In a letter to Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, LCCI President Mian Nauman Kabir said that the constitution of National Economic Council, is a step in the right direction but the Lahore Chamber of Commerce & Industry should also be taken on board in NEC. Kabir said that Lahore Chamber of Commerce & Industry highly appreciates the formation of the National Economic Council envisioned by the Prime Minister. He said that this would be a great platform and certainly play a pivotal role in uplifting the trajectory of national economic development. The LCCI president suggested that the National Economic Council should make long term policies / plans for at least 10 years, be given legal cover and an implementation mechanism should also be developed. He said that an international trade framework should be established to monitor the imports and exports of the country and ensure that they complement each other. Kabir said that there is a dire need to revisit Pakistan’s energy mix by generating a major part of electricity from coal and renewable energy sources so that the reliance on costly imported fuel may be minimised. He said that the business / trade policies should be chalked out in such a manner that they provide an enabling environment for the local industry to become part of the global value chain. Kabir further stated that Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif took the charge at a critical time along with a bundle of economic challenges. He said that a team of experts consisting of leading businessmen and experienced economic experts’ inevitable. He said that only economically strong Pakistan can handle all sorts of international pressures therefore “war against economic ills” should be started instantly and the business community should be given representation in the economic teams. The LCCI president said that Pakistan is a resource-rich country and does not need any external financial help. He said that the economic weaknesses of any country give the opportunity of criticism to others and the same is happening in our case. Kabir said that political instability, below the mark foreign direct investment, high cost of doing business, politics on mega projects like Kalabagh dam and huge trade deficit have led to stagnant growth in Pakistan. He said that Pakistan must have to address these issues through good economic reforms. He said that Pakistan has all the resources to become an economic giant but the only need is to set directions with zeal, courage and sincerity. He said that Pakistan’s huge mineral resources can help get rid of the economic ills. He said that country has one of the largest reserves of gold & copper and coal in the world. He added that according to a rough estimate, the value of coal reserves in Pakistan is 187 times more than the GDP of Pakistan and only 2pc of Pakistani coal reserves can generate 20,000 MW of electricity for almost 50 years. In addition to gold, copper and coal, the country has vast reserves of precious stones, gypsum, salt and marble but instead of taking full advantage of these God-gifted resources most of the share is being exported in raw form. He said that these resources must be used by the state instead of giving contracts to the foreign companies for extraction. He also called for new technologies and training of human resources for the mining sectors.