June 07, 2023 (MLN): Pakistan is in dire need of a ‘decade of political stability’ to turn around the national economy and achieve a consistent growth trajectory said Minister for Planning, Development, and Special Initiatives Professor Ahsan Iqbal on Wednesday in a conference organized by the Islamabad Policy Research Institute (IPRI), as APP reported.
“There is a big opportunity for us to streamline the internal system, ensure political stability in the country and create a decade of stability as economic policies do prove result-oriented before ten years,” he added.
Ahsan Iqbal said that Price Waterhouse Coopers (PwC), an international ranking company, has predicted that Pakistan would be standing among the top 20 economies of the world by 2030.
He believed that all stakeholders should think about aligning themselves with Pakistan's shared vision to move forward towards development and prosperity, adopting the ‘collaborative and harmonized mode.’
The minister said there was a great scope for Pakistani to increase cooperation with Middle Eastern countries and get investment, technologies, and expertise.
He stated that the region is witnessing fast-paced development projects for which skilled manpower is needed, he emphasized.
Accordingly, the incumbent government has recently established a Task Force to align Pakistan’s workforce and youth with the market-based demands.
As per an estimate, the minister said the trade volume between GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) and Asian countries would exceed the figure of $600bn by 2030.
He said Pakistan had strategic partnerships with Middle Eastern countries, China, European Union, United States of America, and GCC states, adding Pakistanis living in different parts of the world were significantly contributing to the national economy by sending home valuable remittances.
Commenting on Pakistan’s strategy to achieve sustainable development, the minister informed the conference participants that the Planning Minister had launched the ‘5Es Framework’ to turn around Pakistan after Tuesday's National Economic Council (NEC) approval.
Shedding light on each strategy component, the 5Es Framework was centered around five key pillars.
The first E aimed at increasing exports as the country’s future heavily depended upon how fast it became an export-led economy.
He added, “Our poor performance in exports is the principal reason for our current crisis. We need an export emergency. This E in particular focuses on initiatives that will tackle the chronic boom-and-bust cycles and stabilize the economy.”
Ahsan Iqbal said that the second E is about E-Pakistan which would ultimately help Pakistan “Build a Knowledge Economy” with a mission to harness the immense potential of IT and Telecom exports.
“This pillar aims to lay the foundation for a robust knowledge-based economy in Pakistan. Accelerating the digitization ecosystem and expanding the IT sector are key objectives to foster socio-economic growth.”
The minister said that the third E is about Environment & Climate Change which focused on water & food security.
“This E prioritizes institutional, legal, and policy objectives for mitigating its impact. Addressing water and food security challenges is a key focus area, ensuring the sustainability and resilience of the nation.”
Explaining the fourth E that related to Energy & Infrastructure, he said the government wanted secure, sustainable, and affordable energy for all including the industry and other development sectors.
Talking about the fifth E which was about Equity & Empowerment, Ahsan Iqbal said its primary focus was to “Leave No One Behind,” empowering youth, women, persons with disabilities, and the least-developed regions of the country.
The minister said the government had also presented “Pakistan Outlook-2035” before the NEC, apprising it that if the country continued with the same approach of ‘business-as-usual’, it would become a $570bn economy by 2035.
But, if the country choses the ‘transformational and aspirational’ path with 6%-8%, it could become a $1 trillion economy by doubling the volume.
He said if things went on as usual, the poverty would increase by 40% and if a transformational path was followed, the poverty would fall by 15%.
Copyright Mettis Link News
Posted on:2023-06-07T17:30:19+05:00
38484
