The PIMEC 2023, an initiative of the Pakistan Navy organized under the auspices of the Ministry of Maritime Affairs to kick-start development in the maritime sector.
Chief Minister (CM) Sindh stated on Thursday that the maritime sector required massive amounts of money and technical expertise to build, operate, and make the sector economically viable and profitable.
He made the remarks while speaking at the third steering committee meeting of the Pakistan International Maritime Exhibition and Conference (PIMEC) 2023, which was held here at CM House.
The meeting was attended by provincial ministers, chief secretary Sohail Rajput, Deputy Chief of Naval Staff (operations) Rear Admiral Mohammad Faisal Abbasi, COMCOAST Rear Admiral Raja Rab Nawaz, COMKAR Rear Admiral Mian Zakir Ullah Jan, provincial secretaries, IG Police Ghulam Nabi Memon, senior officers of the Pak Navy, and provincial government officials.
The PIMEC 2023, an initiative of the Pakistan Navy organised under the auspices of the Ministry of Maritime Affairs to kick-start development in the maritime sector, is set to take place from February 10 to 12.
The event will give the maritime industry, both public and private, the opportunity to display products and develop business relationships.
According to CM, the maritime sector was both financially and technologically intensive, requiring significant capital for construction, operation, and economic viability.
“Once that investment is made and the setup is in place, it also requires highly skilled manpower, which unfortunately we simply do not have in sufficient numbers at this time,” he said, adding that it would not be out of context to say that Pakistan was suffering from “sea blindness,” and that’s why the motto of PIMEC has been very aptly kept as “Sea the Future.”
According to the Chief Minister, PIMEC should serve as a platform for stakeholders from various maritime industries, such as aquaculture, a low-impact method of farming in water.
He added that while fisheries employ a large portion of the coastal population, this sector has significant export potential that has yet to be realized. He claimed that Pakistani fishing boats lacked modern fishing and storage equipment.
“PIMEC can be a platform for boat construction and associated industries to modernise fishing boats,” he said, adding that Pakistan has a large shipbreaking yard in Gadani that, if used to its full potential, has the potential to generate millions of dollars per year.
According to the CM, coastal tourism was almost a neglected field that was required to be tapped because tourists were attracted by the climate, biodiversity, and long sandy beaches of South Asia.
Although Gwadar port development was underway, the CM stated that it needed to be coupled with maritime industries in order to reap the greatest benefits and that these gaps could be bridged through an effective platform such as PIMEC.
The Chief Minister added that economics was at work behind the optimism that supported the development of Pakistan’s maritime economy.
“Being a developing country with untapped marine economic resources, Pakistan has a huge economic edge,” he said, adding that this is because there would be no diminishing marginal returns here until capital accumulation reached its optimum point, making a Pakistan Navy initiative like PIMEC highly commendable.
The CM directed Karachi police and deputy commissioners, as well as civic organizations, to ensure necessary arrangements for the exhibition and the conference scheduled to be held from February 10–12, 2023.