PIDE’s first-ever EconFest held: Country needs to boost exports to $100bn in 5-8 years: minister

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives, Ahsan Iqbal has said Pakistan needs to curb tax evasion, increase tax collection and boost its exports from around $ 30 billion to $ 100 billion in the next five to eight years.

Speaking at the PIDE’s first-ever EconFest, he said if there is a conflict in society, no policy will be successful. Pakistan’s 75-year history shows that we made robust policies.

To develop its economy, the minister said that Pakistan needs to curb tax evasion, increase tax collection, and increase its exports from around $ 30 billion to $ 100 billion in the next five to eight years. He said we also need to develop our youth’s IT skills.

Moreover, the climate situation needs to be tackled. “Most importantly, we need to tackle the issue of energy, which is a huge drain on Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves. Therefore, we need to move to renewable energy resources.”

The minister said the Chinese government was very interested in investing in Pakistan but the new regime that came to power in 2018 started alleging corruption in the CPEC project, which again derailed Pakistan.

He said that the country’s interest should be not sacrificed for the sake of conflict and politics. Therefore, we must learn to collaborate and cooperate as Pakistanis to make Pakistan’s economy better,” he said.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023