ISLAMABAD, Jan 20 (APP): Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Professor Ahsan Iqbal on Monday chaired a consultative meeting on the action plan for the “Uraan Pakistan” program, launched with the primary goal of achieving sustainable development and accelerated economic growth.
The meeting was attended by secretaries from all ministries, as well as chiefs, project directors, and both federal and provincial officials, according to a news release.
During the meeting, the minister directed each ministry to align its objectives with the Uraan Pakistan program and appoint a senior focal person to ensure continuous coordination and monitor progress.
Additionally, ministries were tasked with identifying three key factors that could stabilize the economy.
Ahsan Iqbal emphasized the need to engage stakeholders through comprehensive strategies, proposing workshops to strengthen collaboration with provincial governments.
He stressed that the shift toward export-led growth was critical for long-term economic sustainability.
Highlighting the current export level of $40 billion, he pointed out that this was insufficient and called for an increase to $100 billion.
He also noted that two-thirds of the country’s exports come from low-value-added textile products, urging a significant overhaul of the export ecosystem to boost value-added exports.
The minister acknowledged the promising progress in IT exports and shared the government’s vision of increasing IT exports from $3 billion to $10 billion by 2029.
He underscored the importance of equipping the youth with the necessary training, skills and opportunities to leverage the country’s demographic dividend.
Addressing the critical issue of out-of-school children, the minister emphasized the need to bring the approximately 2.5 million children currently outside the education system back into school.
He argued that this step was crucial for unlocking the potential of Pakistan’s young population and driving sustainable economic growth.
Reflecting on past economic challenges, Ahsan Iqbal noted that poor governance had led to a decline in the Public Sector Development Program (PSDP) from Rs1,100 billion in 2018 to Rs400 billion in 2022.
However, he reaffirmed that the government has successfully restored the PSDP and was steering the economy back toward stability.
The Prime Minister’s 5Es agenda—focusing on Education, Health, Modern Technology, Green Energy, and Ethics—was reiterated as a foundational framework for achieving development goals.
The minister concluded the meeting by reaffirming the government’s unwavering commitment to utilizing all available resources to achieve the objectives of Uraan Pakistan and ensuring policy continuity at both the federal and provincial levels.