Peshawar: The Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) and Al-Baraka Bank have agreed to work jointly for the growth of small and large-scale businesses, industrial development, and diversification of key economic sectors across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.The commitment was made during a meeting between SCCI President Junaid Altaf and Al-Baraka Bank Chief Executive Officer Atif Hanif at the chamber house. Both sides discussed in detail the issues hindering business and industrial progress in KP, with a particular focus on expanding potential sectors to boost trade and exports from the province.To formalize their cooperation, SCCI President Junaid Altaf and CEO Atif Hanif signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) aimed at strengthening collaboration, facilitation and sectoral development. CEO Atif Hanif was also declared an honorary Brand Ambassador of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on the occasion.The CEO was accompanied by Area Head Anwar Kazmi, Regional Manager Aftab Haider Khan, Cluster Manager Zain Shah and Bra nch Manager Asif Shahzad. Senior SCCI officials, former office-bearers, executive committee members and representatives of the Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry Peshawar (WCCIP) also attended the meeting.In his opening remarks, President Junaid Altaf highlighted challenges faced by the business community, particularly SMEs and industrial units. He underlined KP's vast trade, investment and export potential - including gems and jewellery, honey, furniture, pharmaceuticals, mining, oil and gas, and hydel power - and urged Al-Baraka Bank to partner with SCCI in diversifying and modernizing these sectors to boost exports.Sharing future initiatives, the SCCI chief said the chamber, in collaboration with WCCIP, is working on establishing a state-of-the-art IT Park, promoting youth entrepreneurship, supporting startups and upgrading local business outlets. He added that SCCI, with support from federal and provincial governments and Governor Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Faisal Karim Kundi, is striving to build a soft image of the province to attract foreign investment.Junaid Altaf also raised concerns over border-related challenges, noting that KP's business community has suffered due to closure of trade routes, as the region heavily depends on markets in Afghanistan and Central Asian Republics. He emphasized the need for direct connections, joint ventures and enhanced trade relations with CARs.While declaring CEO Atif Hanif as KP's honorary Brand Ambassador, the SCCI President called for establishing an Al-Baraka facilitation desk at the chamber, provision of running finance for entrepreneurs and regular awareness sessions on Islamic banking.Earlier, CEO Atif Hanif lauded the resilience of KP's business community, saying that despite adverse conditions, it continues to contribute significantly to the national economy. He urged diversification of export-oriented products such as honey, gems, marble, olives and other promising sectors of KP.Highlighting the global expansion of the Halal economy, he said Pakistan ha s substantial opportunities to enhance Halal exports; however, current national export volumes in this category remain low. He noted that Halal tourism has reached nearly USD 2.5 billion globally, while Halal fashion trade has crossed USD 400 billion.CEO Atif Hanif stressed the need for accurate export and transit data collection to support better planning, improved trade facilitation and greater export volumes.