Chief Minister Punjab Mian Shahbaz Sharif on Saturday appreciated the Lahore Chamber of Commerce & Industry for establishing internationally recognized Mediation Center at its premises and enhancing its scope to other chambers of Punjab. The Chief Minister was speaking at MOUs signing ceremony among LCCI and five other chambers of commerce & industry in Punjab. Provincial Law Minister Rana Sanaullah, MNA Pervez Malik, LCCI president Engineer Sohail Lashari, Senior Vice President Mian Tariq Misbah, Vice President Kashif Anwar, Saima Zuberi, Reshma Aftab from the IFC and Ross Forgousan from DIFD were also present at the signing ceremony. The LCCI president Engineer Sohail Lashari inked MOUs on behalf of the Lahore Chamber of Commerce & Industry while Tariq Bilal, President Gujrat Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Sohail Bin Rashees, President Faisalabad Chamber, Dr. Sarfraz Bashir, President Sialkot Chamber, Dr. Shimial Dawood, President Rawalpindi Chamber and Nauman Salahuddin represented Gujranwala Chamber.
The Chief Minister Punjab said that the establishment of Mediation Center would go a long way in strengthening of a mechanism of out of court settlement of disputes in the province of Punjab. He said that the International Finance Corporation and Department for International Development (DFID) have taken a step in right direction that would help increase foreign investment in Pakistan.  Shahbaz Sharif said that Punjab government would extend every possible help to Lahore Chamber of Commerce for strengthening the mechanism of mediation in the province and necessary legislation would be done soon to give legal cover to the process.
Speaking on the occasion, MNA Pervez Malik said that the LCCI Mediation Center would enable the business community to get their disputes resolved in shortest possible time.  The LCCI President Engineer Sohail Lashari shared with the audience that LCCI is the first and only Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Pakistan that has a panel of more than 40 internationally accredited mediators having diverse professional backgrounds who are trained by the Center for Effective Dispute Resolution, United Kingdom. Qualified mediators are readily available at LCCI Business Dispute Resolution Center to help disputing parties settle general contract disputes and relating to trade and tax in particular. President LCCI acknowledged the role of trained and registered mediators towards effective dispute resolution.
“Businesses around the world are using mediation services to settle contractual disputes efficiently and out of court. LCCI is providing mediation services of international standards for the benefits of its members and business community at large.” President LCCI also added that this is part of a series of joint initiatives of LCCI, IFC-World Bank Group, and the Department for International Development of the United Kingdom aimed at improving investment climate in Punjab and across Pakistan. 
President LCCI expressed his concerns that Contract Enforcement remains weak in Pakistan. More needs to be done. This is essential for building investor confidence. He urged participants and media as well as invited all chambers and associations to join hands for promoting the use of mediation over litigation. This is critical for Pakistan and Punjab to be considered a business-friendly investment destination.  Ross Forgousan said that the availability of mediation services as being provided by qualified mediators at LCCI Business Dispute Resolution Center would contribute to improving investment climate and will serve as a good signal for foreign and local companies to increase their business activities and create jobs.