Minister for Finance and Revenue Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb has said agriculture and information technology (IT) are the backbone of our economy and the real levers of economic growth of the country.

He was talking to the Deputy Director in the Office of International Affairs at the US Commodity Future Trading Commission, Kevin Piccoli here in Islamabad on Tuesday.

The meeting discussed the role of agricultural commodities market and the collaboration between the Security and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) and US Commodity Future Trading Commission for an ongoing series of capacity-building training sessions on the development of commodities futures market, regulation and oversight leading to a well-functioning commodities market in Pakistan.

The Finance Minister noted that while Pakistan’s economy during the current fiscal year grew by 2.38 per cent, agriculture emerged as a main driver of economic growth, registering an impressive growth of 6.25 per cent due to double- digit growth in output of major crops.

He said both agriculture and IT in Pakistan are largely driven by the domestic factors and a healthy and consistent growth in these sectors is a positive sign and a stabilizing factor in view of their export potential for the national economy.