RCCI urges govt to promote gems & jewelry sector

RAWALPINDI, April 24 (SABAH): The Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI) has urged the government to promote non-conventional sectors like gems and jewelry. Pakistan is rich in natural resources of gems and stones.

RCCI President Nadeem Rauf said in a statement that the Government should come forward and add incentives to reduce taxes on import of machinery and other raw materials used in this sector.

Pakistan always focused on traditional sectors to increase exports, however, we must look for new opportunities and sectors like gems and jewellery to attract foreign investment as countries like Thai land, Sri Lanka and Central Asian states have shown interest, he added.

He informed that the chamber is going to organize a third Gems and jewelry exhibition in the third week of May in Islamabad. The main purpose of this expo was to attract foreign investment in non-conventional sectors like gems and jewellery and to promote small and medium enterprise (SME), he added.

 He said that the exhibition would provide an opportunity to the businessmen to showcase the best of Pakistani gemstones, diamonds, jewellery, and mineral specimens from across the country.

Nadeem Rauf informed that Pakistan has enormous wealth of expensive gems such as ruby, emerald, tourmaline, garnet, topaz, peridot, aquamarine, spinel, pargasite, diopside, moonstone, pink topaz, sapphire, zircon, feldspar, agate, serpentine jade, epidote, pink beryl (morganite), purple beryl, sphene, zoisite, lapis lazuli, turquoise, and kunzite etc.