ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb has said that agriculture and information technology are the backbone of our economy and the real levers of economic growth of the country, said a press release.
He made these comments during a call on him by Kevin Piccoli, Deputy Director in the Office of International Affairs at the US Commodity Future Trading Commission (CFTC). Chairman SECP Akif Saeed and senior officials from the Finance Division and officials from US Embassy in Pakistan also attended the meeting.
The meeting discussed the role of agricultural commodities market and the collaboration between SECP and CFTC for an ongoing series of capacity-building training sessions on the development of commodities futures market, regulation and oversight leading to a well-functioning commodities market in Pakistan.
Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb welcomed the initiative and highlighted the role of agriculture in Pakistan’s economy, particularly its contribution to the GDP of the country. He noted that while Pakistan’s economy during FY2024 grew by 2.38 per cent, agriculture emerged as a main driver of economic growth, registering an impressive growth of 6.25 per cent due to double- digit growth in output of major crops.
He said that both agriculture and IT in Pakistan were largely driven by domestic factors and a healthy and consistent growth in these sectors was a positive sign and a stabilizing factor in view of their export potential for national economy.
Meanwhile, Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Aurangzeb also held a meeting with Mark Skelton, chairman Board of Directors K-Electric, on Tuesday, to exchange views around K-Electric’s plans for catering to growing energy demands of Karachi and the company’s transition to renewables to ensure affordable and sustainable energy for the residents of port city, said a press release.
Javed Kureishi, Member Board of Directors KE, Mubasher H Sheikh, Member Board of Directors KE, Moonis Alvi, CEO KE, Imran Qureshi, Chief Regulatory Affairs KE, M Aamir Ghaziani, CFO KE and senior officials of the Finance Division also attended the meeting.
The KE team briefed the Minister regarding its plans to include renewable in its generation mix, with a view to lowering down the cost of electricity for Karachi. They also apprised the Minister of other initiatives being taken by KE for improved service delivery to residents of Karachi.
The Minister recounted the structural reforms being undertaken in the power sector, including reconstitution of Boards of Directors of Discos by bringing in professionals from private sector and reducing the number of government nominees to bring in more efficiency in the boards and improve overall service delivery.
He reiterated the government’s resolve to ensure private sector participation in all government-owned discos and gencos and mentioned the start of process of privatizing of three discos in line with the Prime Minister’s vision to enable and facilitate the private sector to lead the economy.
The Minister also lauded the initiatives taken by K-Electric for further investment and expansion of its energy and distribution operations, and assured full support for its efforts to transition to renewables and production of cheaper and affordable energy through the use of domestic resources.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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