Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Industries and Production Haroon Akhtar Khan on Friday chaired the 31st board meeting of the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (SMEDA), where the process of appointing a new chief executive officer was discussed.
The meeting, attended by Secretary Industries and Production Saif Anjum, SMEDA CEO Soqrat Aman Rana, and senior officials, focused on restructuring the authority under the directives of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, according to a press release.
Khan said the new structure emphasised outsourcing models, policy formulation and programme design, with priority areas including small and medium enterprises, micro-enterprises, women entrepreneurs and climate-related challenges.
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He announced that SMEDA will establish regional offices in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Balochistan and Gilgit-Baltistan.
On the appointment of a new CEO, the board decided to mandate its Human Resource Committee to oversee the selection process. Khan stressed the recruitment would be “strictly on merit” with no compromise on transparency.
“SMEDA is a vital institution with immense potential. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has a clear vision for strengthening it and is personally committed to its success,” he said, adding that empowering women and micro-enterprises would help drive economic growth.
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