Islamabad: Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif has tasked the Ministry of Planning to prepare a comprehensive action plan to boost exports of precious stones following their processing.

Chairing a meeting in Islamabad, PM Shehbaz expressed the resolve to align precious stone mining and processing in Pakistan with international standards and increase their exports.

The Prime Minister said Pakistan is blessed by Almighty Allah with a wealth of natural resources, including precious stones, emphasizing this is a sector where exports can be increased using local resources.

The meeting was informed that government is establishing three Centers of Excellence for cutting, shaping and preparing precious stones for use in jewelry. It was informed land has already been identified for centers in Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir, while land selection for a center in Islamabad is in progress. These Centers of Excellence will provide training for processing precious stones according to international standards.

The meeting was informed that Pakistan’s first international exhibition on precious stones will be held in July this year. Additionally, in collaboration with Sri Lanka and China, efforts are being made to train the workforce for specialized precious stone processing.