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ISLAMABAD: Pakistani companies participating in the Arab Health 2025 exhibition in Dubai were expected to collectively generate around $15 million in business for the surgical industry, Pakistan’s envoy to United Arab Emirates (UAE) said on Thursday.

Arab Health 2025, organized under the patronage of the UAE’s Ministry of Health and Prevention, is one of the largest and most prestigious health care exhibitions in the world. This year, the event featured over 3,800 exhibitors and has attracted more than 60,000 health care professionals and industry leaders from over 70 countries.

The four-day event from Jan. 27 till Jan. 30, focused on nine key product sectors, including medical equipment and devices, disposables and surgical goods, orthopedics and physiotherapy, imaging and diagnostics, general health care services, health care infrastructure, wellness and prevention, health care transformation and health care technology.

Pakistan set up a pavilion at the expo, where 40 leading companies showcased their products and services under the umbrella of the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP).

“Pakistani exhibitors from the surgical industry alone expect business deals of around $15 million as outcome of this exhibition and this does not include pharmaceutical companies’ potential business deals,” Ambassador Faisal Niaz Tirmizi told Arab News.

He said country’s participation in Arab Health 2025 has been a success, with our surgical equipment manufacturers and pharmaceutical companies receiving overwhelmingly positive responses. 

“In a significant boost to Pakistan’s health care exports, several leading Pakistani companies have signed four Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with international health care distributors at a high-profile business forum,” the envoy said, adding that these agreements marked a major step in expanding the global reach of Pakistan’s medical sector and strengthening international trade partnerships. 

“By fostering collaboration in medical technology, diagnostics, surgical instruments, and health care solutions, these MoUs are expected to enhance export opportunities and position Pakistan as a key player in the global health care industry.”

Global health care partners have shown keen interest in Pakistani products, reaffirming our reputation for high-quality medical and surgical equipment, the ambassador added.

“Our exhibitors are enthusiastic about the strong business leads generated during the exhibition, which will open new avenues for collaboration.”

The Pakistani exhibitors hailed their participation in the mega event in the Gulf state as a success, noting that the business leads generated would translate into substantial future revenue.

“Arab Health is the largest exhibition worldwide for the health care and pharmaceutical industry, where we received an excellent response from visitors, clients, and investors,” Bilal Tanveer, a director of Sialkot-based surgical goods manufacturing company Durable Hospital Supplies, told Arab News.

Out of the 40 Pakistani companies, he said 34 were from the surgical sector, with many deals signed and initiated. 

“We have signed several deals with clients which will translate into substantial business volume, but the information is confidential and cannot be shared,” he added.

Amir Shehzad, chief executive officer of Sialkot-based electro-surgical instruments manufacturer Sehar Batool International, said he has attended the Arab Health Expo for the past 10 years due to its high visitor turnout.

“We have signed four deals with international clients from France and Italy,” he told Arab News.

Healthcare professionals and companies from around the world attended the event, he said the visitors showed great interest in Pakistani products. 

“This participation has expanded our horizons and provided valuable opportunities to connect with potential customers while also learning from other companies,” he added.

The UAE is Pakistan’s third-largest trading partner after China and the United States (US), and a major source of foreign investment, valued at over $10 billion in the last 20 years, according to the UAE foreign ministry. Policymakers in Pakistan consider the UAE an optimal export destination due to its geographical proximity, which minimizes transportation and freight costs while facilitating commercial transactions.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s tax-to-GDP ratio rose to 10.8% in the second quarter of the 2024-25 fiscal year, a statement from the Senate Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue said on Thursday, below the target of 13.6% agreed with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) when it approved a $7 billion bailout loan for the cash-strapped country last year. 
The South Asian nation is navigating a challenging economic recovery path buttressed by the 37-month loan program that comes with tough measures especially on the taxation front, such as broadening the tax base to include previously undertaxed sectors such as agriculture, industrialists, and developers, abolishing exemptions and bringing the retail, agriculture, and export sectors into the normal income tax regime and imposing new taxes on the construction and sale of buildings and plots, and on milk and lubricating oil. 
The bailout has also called for increasing the tax rate on farm income, continuing fiscal consolidation to reduce the deficit and improve fiscal discipline, improving tax administration and compliance, strengthening federal-provincial institutional arrangements and improving public investment management.
“The tax-to-GDP ratio has risen to 10.8% in the second quarter [of FY24-25], up from 9.5% in the first quarter, although it remains below the IMF-agreed target of 13.6% by the end of the program,” said a press release after the Senate Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue met on Thursday. “By comparison, India’s tax-to-GDP ratio stands at 18%.”
During the meeting, the committee was briefed on Pakistan’s current revenue shortfall of Rs384 billion for the first half of the fiscal year. The FBR collected Rs5,624 billion in taxes, falling short of the targeted Rs6,008 billion. 
Senator Saleem Mandviwala, the chair of the committee, expressed concerns over the Federal Bureau of Revenue’s handling of sales tax collection.
Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb responded by highlighting ongoing reforms, including a move to simplify income tax forms for salaried individuals and a push for transparency in tax collection through technological innovations.
Aurangzeb also discussed the government’s intention to separate tax policy from FBR operations in the next financial year, aiming to ease the burden on the salaried class.
“We are taking steps to keep the tax form simple and easy,” he added.
The committee also stressed the need for reforms to reduce the administrative burden on taxpayers while ensuring that tax collection remained “efficient and fair.”
The possibility of converting certain taxes into a carbon tax, a proposal raised by Senator Sherry Rahman, was also discussed. 
“While the finance minister acknowledged the World Bank’s 10-year $20 billion Country Partnership Framework, which includes climate and carbon concerns, some members, including Senator Farooq H. Naik, raised concerns about the impact of a carbon tax on inflation and its effect on the poor,” the statement said. 
Under the IMF deal, the highest effective tax rate on farm income can rise to as much as 45% from the current 15%. It will be implemented from this year, a move that was termed “unprecedented” by brokerage and investment banking firm JS Global at the time the loan was approved last year.
“These changes could contribute to inflation, particularly in food prices, affecting consumers nationwide,” said Ghasharib Shaokat, head of product at Pakistan Agriculture Research, adding that larger farmers will be affected more.
Inflation averaged close to 30% in FY23 and 23.4% in FY24, which ended on June 30. The consumer inflation rate slowed to 4.1% year on year in December, the lowest in more than 6.5 years.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s government is based on a weak coalition and faces political pressure from the party of popular jailed opposition leader, former premier Imran Khan.
But Sharif says his government is committed to the tough but unavoidable reforms mandated by the IMF. 
Pakistan has been struggling with boom-and-bust cycles for decades, leading to 22 IMF bailouts since 1958.