China, Pakistan to benefit from cooperation in gems industry

ISLAMABAD: Chinese investors have recently shown interest in establishing and investing in lapidary units along China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) route, which may help Pakistan achieve its $5 billion Gems & Jewelry export target.

Talking to Gwadar Pro. Zhao Lanying who is running an import-export business for last two decades said that a large number of Chinese investment can be brought to Pakistan for setting up lapidaries and special industrial parks for cutting, polishing, faceting and carving of gemstones. “I have years of experience with Pakistani traders and manufacturers,and I think setting up of gems and jewelry special industrial parks in Pakistan will help the development of gem industry of both countries,”Lanying said.

“Pakistan and Chinese government should join hands and collaborate with each other and learn from each other’s experience,” Lanying added, according to Gwadar Pro. The Chinese government may also invest in the extraction of gemstones as most of the gemstones get wasted due to indiscriminate blasting which can be reduced if modern mining machinery is used for extraction.

According to Gems, Jewelry and Minerals Task Force, Pakistan has the potential of earning $5 billion annually through the exports of precious stones, which will have a positive impact on the national economy and create millions of jobs.

Prime Minister Imran Khan and his government are keen to take special measures to bring up this huge market, and a few major steps are in process to be taken in this regard.

First a Jewelry City will be set up to pool resources, provide one-stop operations to address the problems that are faced by the sector and provide incentives to investors.