ISLAMABAD, Jul 4 (APP): Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal on Thursday said that the only way for sustainable economic growth was increasing production capacity of every sector and competitiveness of Pakistani products internationally.
The minister was speaking during a briefing on the on the National Productivity Plan and all upcoming projects of the National Productivity Organization (NPO).
He regretted that despite having vast resources, Pakistan’s economy had been facing challenges due to political instability and a lack of focus on productivity.
Ahsan Iqbal said that Pakistan’s labour productivity growth rate had been only 1.5% from 2000 to 2020, which was significantly lower than the regional average.
Keeping in view China’s labour productivity growth rate of 8.5%, followed by India 5.7% and Bangladesh 4%, there was need for Pakistan to take measure for enhancing its labour capacity to remain competitive, he added.
He re-emphasized that the country would have to increase productivity in all sectors, particularly agriculture and industry.
Ahsan Iqbal also highlighted the importance of technology and innovation for achieving economic growth and productivity.
“The world is moving towards artificial intelligence and automation, and Pakistan needs to catch up to stay competitive,” he added.
He said that Pakistan faced the challenge of lowest yield per acre in many crops.
Pakistan, he said, was the third largest milk producing country, with an average annual milk production of 1,600 to 1,800 liters per animal which was much lower than the global production of 7,000 to 8,000 liters.
The country needed to promote agri-industry and value addition in the different agri-products, he stressed.
The minister regretted that persistent political instability in the country was also having negative impacts on its economy. Moreover, policies were changed frequently, which also affected the economy adversely.
There was need for long-term policies, which should not be changed for at least 10 years to show positive results, he added.
Ahsan Iqbal suggested that a national summit should be organized where all the stakeholders discuss ways to improve productivity and competitiveness.
Earlier, Additional Secretary Ministry of Industries and Production Asad Islam and NPO Chief Executive Officer Alamgir Chaudhry gave a detailed presentation on the National Productivity Plan.