Islamabad, March 13, 2023 (PPI-OT): Federal Minister for Planning Ahsan Iqbal said that if you have the will, this country will help you to fulfill your dreams, but you need to work hard for it. These views were expressed by Federal Minister for Planning Ahsan Iqbal while speaking at the EConFest Festival of Economy organized by Pahd on the theme of what problems Pakistan is facing and “How Pakistan can be changed”, while addressing the event
The federal minister said that he said that public service requires faith and a desire to help one’s country and people. He said that no policy will be successful if there is conflict in the society. Pakistan’s 75-year history shows that we have made strong policies. However, we lag behind South Korea, Turkey and other countries in terms of policy consistency.
“At first, we were on our way to become the next Japan of South Asia but the 1965 war pushed us back,” he added. Similarly, in 1991 private sector participation brought investment in many sectors but the then government was thrown out which again derailed Pakistan’s economic development. The third opportunity came to us in the form of CPEC.
The Chinese government was very interested in investing in Pakistan, but the new government that came to power in 2018 started making allegations of corruption in the Sipil project, which once again derailed Pakistan. National interest should not be sacrificed for the sake of conflicts and politics. Therefore, we as Pakistanis should learn to cooperate to improve the economy of Pakistan.
To develop its economy, the minister said Pakistan needs to curb tax evasion, increase tax collection and increase its exports from around Rs 30 billion to Rs 100 billion in the next 5 to 8 years.
Professor Ahsan Iqbal said that we also need to improve the IT skills of our youth. Moreover, there is a need to deal with climatic conditions. Most importantly, we need to address the energy issue, which is a huge strain on Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves. So, we need to switch to renewable energy sources. The minister said that we also need to focus on equality in education and health.
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