‘Uraan Pakistan’: PM Shehbaz unveils 5-year plan for economy

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday rolled out ‘Uraan Pakistan’, a five-year national economic plan aimed at steering the country toward sustainable growth.

According to the Ministry of Planning, the ‘Uraan Pakistan-Home-grown National Economic Transformation Plan’ will be a five-year national economic plan and will cover from 2024 to 2029.

The ministry said the plan is based upon valuable input from all stakeholders including the public and private sectors and aims to put Pakistan on a sustained high growth trajectory.

The National Economic Transformation Plan (NETP), based on the 5Es Framework of (i) Export; (ii) E-Pakistan; (iii) Environment and Climate Change; (iv) Energy and Infrastructure; and (v) Equity, Ethics and Empowerment, would serve as the foundation for 13th five year plan (2024-29).

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Addressing the launching ceremony in Islamabad, PM Shehbaz said the plan is aimed at steering the country toward sustainable growth from the macroeconomic stability.

The prime minister stressed the need for reducing cost of the inputs like electricity and gas to ensure sustainable growth. He said local industry should be made more compatible to save foreign exchange and expand exports, state-run Radio Pakistan reported.

PM Shehbaz said export-led growth is the “only option to make Pakistan a stronger economy”.

“The government has set an investment target of $10 billion annually and an enabling environment is being created to attract local investment as well.”

The premier termed privatisation and outsourcing vital to save huge losses for which “political dialogue is utmost necessary”.

Earlier speaking on the occasion, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said Uraan Pakistan is aimed at attaining a sustainable GDP growth rate of 6% by 2028, one million jobs annually and $10 billion private investment per year.

The finance minister said the plan is accompanied by a comprehensive implementation mechanism to hit the export target of $60 billion by fiscal year 2028.

He added that PM Shehbaz has established a delivery unit at the Prime Minister Office to coordinate the implementation of sectoral plan and roadmaps.

Among others, Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, Governor Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Faisal Karim Kundi, Balochistan Governor Shaikh Jaffar Khan Mandokhail, Sindh Minister Syed Nasir Hussain Shah, and Azad Kashmir Prime Minister Chaudhry Anwar ul Haq were also present on the occasion.