Pakistan has decided to send a high-level delegation to the United States to further promote trade relations and negotiate tariffs.

It was announced during a meeting of the Economic Advisory Council held in Islamabad today with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in the chair.  

The Prime Minister said the delegation will include leading Pakistani businessmen and exporters.

Emphasizing industrial growth as the government's top priority, he said it would increase employment opportunities in the country.

Shehbaz Sharif explained that the cost of industrial production would be reduced through lower electricity prices, resulting in a boost in both production and exports.  He added that reducing local industry production costs would enable Pakistani products to compete internationally.

He credited the government's economic team for successfully negotiating with and convincing the International Monetary Fund, leading to a reduction in electricity prices.

Shehbaz Sharif further said the economic stability, reduced inflation, a significant drop in interest rates, increased confidence in international institutions, and investments from friendly countries are the results of the economic team's hard work.

He said that business and investment are being facilitated through reforms such as information technology and the digitization of the tax system.

The Prime Minister expressed hope for achieving Sustainable Development Goals through a comprehensive consultative process, with suggestions being sought from experts to further improve the economy.

The participants of meeting gave suggestions on the future course of action for the development of country's economy, especially in terms of increasing exports.

They commended the Prime Minister for the significant reduction in electricity prices provided to industries by the government.

Participants also welcomed the Mineral Investment Forum held yesterday, describing it as an important milestone for the development of the country's mining sector.

They suggested to focus on value addition and export of finished products rather than raw materials.

They proposed further strengthening the communication infrastructure for the transportation of goods from industries to ports, aligning the skills provided to the domestic workforce with international standards, improving the promotion of Pakistani goods through Pakistani embassies abroad, establishing export promotional councils, and further improving facilities in special economic zones and industrial areas.

Participants commended Pakistan's decision to send a high-level delegation to the United States for discussing the issue of recent tariff implementation by the US Administration.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif directed the government economic team to formulate and submit a workable action plan regarding council members' proposals.

He instructed the constitution of separate sub-committees of various sectors under the Economic Advisory Council, which will compile actionable proposals regarding these sectors.