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Lahore, January 09, 2013 (PPI-OT): First-ever and first of its kind in any Chambers of Commerce in the SAARC region, LCCI Mediation Centre, backed and supported by IFC (World Bank Group), is all set for out-of court settlement of business disputes through mediation.
This was stated by LCCI Vice President Mian Abuzar Shad while presiding over a meeting of LCCI Standing Committee on Mediation Centre here at the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Convener of the Committee and LCCI former Senior Vice President Engineer Sohail Lashari and former Executive Committee Member Nasira Taskeen also spoke on the occasion.
The LCCI Vice President said that the Mediation Centre is aimed at helping the private sector companies to resolve disputes quickly since in commercial court cases are often expensive and take a long time. “Since this centre has backing of the International Finance Commission, therefore its decisions are acceptable to the international businesses as well.”
He said that steps are being taken to extend the scope of this centre to other chambers of commerce in the Punjab. “We are planning to communicate with the regional and international business community through their relevant government officials, leading chambers, sector associations, banks, multilateral development institutions and diplomatic missions informing them of the availability of a world-class mediation center at Lahore Chambers for resolving business disputes.”
The Convener of the Mediation Center Sohail Lashari said that this is a landmark project not just in Pakistan but also in the region. It’s a giant leap forward in terms of building a world-class platform at the Lahore Chamber for efficiently resolving business disputes.
The establishment of an international standard mediation centre would not only improve investment climate in the country but would also send a very positive signal abroad because a large number of foreign investors could not put their money in Pakistan only because of absence of an institutionalized mediation mechanism.
He said that such a mediation mechanism was need of the hour and is a big success of the private sector.
For more information, contact:
Shahid Khalil
Information Department
Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI)
11-Shahrah-e-Aiwan-e-Tijarat,
Lahore -54000, Pakistan
Tel: +9242 111 222 499
Fax: +92 42 636 8854