ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister of Planning and all provincial planning ministers discussed strategies about coordination of provincial economic policies and annual national development plan.
An important meeting of all provincial planning ministers was held under the chairmanship of Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal at P-Block Secretariat on Wednesday.
In addition to the provincial planning ministers, Secretary Planning and Development Owais Manzoor Samra and senior officials of the Ministry of Planning participated in the meeting.
The meeting focused on aligning development projects with the Annual National Development Plan, optimizing utilisation of allocated funds for higher education, and strategies for achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Addressing the meeting, Federal Minister for Planning Iqbal said that the government wants to work together with the federal and provincial governments for the development of the country and to promote unity and harmony in the country. He emphasised the imperative of federal-provincial collaboration to address pressing challenges, including rapid population growth, healthcare sector deficiencies, and education sector shortcomings. He stressed the need for collective efforts to achieve national development goals, particularly in the wake of the seventh census results, which predict a doubling of the population within 24-30 years.
The minister expressed concern over Pakistan’s lagging position in healthcare and education, citing issues such as diabetes, hepatitis, tuberculosis, malnutrition, stunting, and out-of-school children. He directed the Federal Bureau of Statistics to collect data on out-of-school children and emphasised the need for federal-provincial collaboration in healthcare and education.
Iqbal said that the results of the 7th census show that the population is increasing rapidly within the next 24 to 30 years and will have to face many challenges. He said that Pakistan is leading in South Asia in terms of population growth. To control this trend of population growth, the federal and provincial governments have to work together under a common strategy, he said. He acknowledged the brain drain due to lack of incentives for university faculty and called for consultative workshops on the five-year plan, involving provinces, stakeholders, think tanks, and experts.
He said that before the formation of the caretaker government, a draft of the five-year plan was prepared so that the draft was shared with all the provinces. He said that consultative workshops should be conducted on the five-year plan in which provincial stakeholders, think tanks and all experts should be invited.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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