ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Shaukat Tarin on Friday reiterated his unflinching support to the exporters, encouraging them to come up with a well-rounded proposal, enabling the government for better facilitation and timely support, amid post-Covid-19 scenarios.

Chairing a meeting with the delegation of exporters, the finance minister urged for adopting a forward looking approach for enhancing export earnings and to reduce trade deficit.

He directed to find a win-win situation with reference to the protracted issues for taking the value-added exports to the next level and emphasised the need for robust and sustained growth in exports on an immediate basis.

The finance minister also appreciated the Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Industries and Production and the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) for their outstanding support and timely interventions for the small and medium industries, amid Covid-19.

Responding to the queries related to the current energy requirements, Finance Minister Train stressed the need for load management by switching to alternative fuel options during the peak demand period.

He directed to form a working group, comprising representatives from respective utility organisations for a prompt action to fulfill the energy requirements on a real-time basis, in respective areas.

The finance minister also assured swift payments to the exporters against their refunds and directed the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) that the refunds requiring provincial government’s verification must be given on an interim basis subject to the future adjustments.

He also constituted a sub-committee, comprising the representatives from the Ministry of Commerce, FBR and the SBP to sort out such matters at an accelerated pace.

The underlying rationale is to ensure timely payments for exporters, amid cash flow crunch.

Earlier, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Commerce Abdul Razak Dawood welcomed the representatives of exporters and commended their role for putting exports on a high growth trajectory during these testing times due to the coronavirus pandemic.

He affirmed full support and facilitation to resolve the liquidity crisis faced by the exporters.