LAHORE: The government is working hard to reshape the economy from import substitution to export-oriented and the private sector should take a driving seat and help us in accomplishing this work, Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal said on Saturday.
Speaking at the Lahore Chamber of Commerce & Industry (LCCI), the planning minister requested the private sector to take the driving seat to move Pakistan forward. He said the only way to develop is to enable people by removing all the bottlenecks in this regard.
The minister was of the view that the private sector should be given the opportunity to make “Made in Pakistan” a standard brand worldwide and to increase national exports. While discussing and comparing the volume of exports of Pakistan with other countries, he said the country’s exports in the 1960s were $ 200 million—equaling the combined exports of South Korea, Malaysia, and Thailand.
“Today, the exports of South Korea are over $ 600 billion, Malaysia’s over $300bn, and Thailand’s over $267bn, while we have reached only $30bn during this period,” he said.
The minister further revealed that the exports of Turkey have increased from $50bn in the year 2000 to $288bn today. “All developed countries have made export-led growth their first priority,” he added.
Mr Iqbal agreed with the LCCI that political stability is a must for economic development. The country, he said, has got a rare opportunity in the shape of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. And at the time, when no-one was ready to invest a single dollar in Pakistan, the Chinese president signed the agreements worth $46bn.
“The development budget in 2018 was Rs1,000bn, but when we came back to power in April 2022, it was reduced to Rs550bn,” he said, adding that local and foreign investors should be encouraged to invest.
He said the country’s tax-to-GDP ratio is only 9.5 per cent, whereas we need at least 18-20pc to ensure sustainable development. “We also need to develop entrepreneurship in the country. Moreover, we need to improve Pakistan’s ranking in the world EODB Index,” he emphasised.
Mr Iqbal said Pakistan now has 350 universities and more than 3,000km of motorways. But unfortunately, our speed of growth is very slow compared to other countries like Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, and Bangladesh.
