Boosting exports to $60 billion in 5 years crucial: Iqbal

ISLAMABAD: In a recent meeting held in Islamabad, Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal engaged with a high-level delegation of Executive Directors from the World Bank Group (WBG).

The primary objective of the meeting was to deepen the collaboration between Pakistan and the WBG, with a specific focus on fostering sustainable and inclusive economic growth within the country.

During the meeting, Minister Iqbal provided a comprehensive briefing on Pakistan’s current economic challenges and the government’s future development agenda. A central component of this agenda was the transformative “Uraan Pakistan 5Es National Transformational Plan,” built upon five fundamental pillars: export-led growth, energy, environment, equity, and empowerment.

Iqbal highlighted the government’s commitment to bolstering Pakistan’s economy through the Uraan Pakistan 5Es plan, with the first “E” prioritising an export-led growth strategy.

He said the government’s goal of reducing reliance on imports by fully developing Pakistan’s export potential, and the need to earn foreign currency to pay for imports necessitates a strong emphasis on developing key export sectors.

Furthermore, he identified eight critical areas for focused development: Agriculture, industry, service sector, IT, manpower export, mining, blue economy, and creative industries and proposed the development of industry clusters within these sectors to fully leverage Pakistan’s potential.

Drawing parallels with the economic trajectories of countries like Malaysia and South Korea, the minister underscored the urgency of increasing Pakistan’s exports to a substantial $60 billion within the next five years.

Iqbal reiterated the government’s emphasis on equity, ethics, and empowerment as key priorities and pointed out the significance of public-private partnerships in driving economic growth, as well as the critical role of women in the national economy.

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He said the government was implementing measures to ensure active participation of women in the economy, recognising their vital contribution to sustainable growth.

Minister Iqbal also called upon international development institutions to create innovative financial instruments designed to help vulnerable countries manage the burden of climate change without compromising their development objectives.

Referencing the devastating floods of 2022 that severely impacted the poorest regions of Pakistan, he highlighting the need for a development-focused approach rather than a narrow, short-term perspective.

He praised the World Bank’s development-oriented perspective, in contrast to that of the IMF, which is crucial for addressing long-term challenges.

The World Bank’s partnership framework aligns closely with Pakistan’s 5Es plan, and the delegation’s visit underscored the WBG’s commitment to supporting Pakistan’s development priorities, particularly within the context of the new Country Partnership Framework (CPF).

The planning minister highlighted substantial economic progress achieved since the launch of the 5Es framework. Key achievements include the successful completion of the IMF Stand-By Arrangement (SBA), a historically low current account deficit, 11.5 percent export growth, the allocation of Rs500 billion for social protection programmes, a 40-44 percent increase in forex reserves, a reduction of inflation to seven percent after 35 months, the highest growth in IT exports at 24 percent, and improvements in credit rating and industrial value addition.