Steps being taken to transform country into ‘techno-economy’: Ahsan

ISLAMABAD: Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal said that the government is taking measures to transform Pakistan into a “techno-economy”.

“We are not here to play with the status quo. We are here to transform Pakistan into a techno-economy. In today’s global race, nations are not competing over oil and gas, they are competing over talent, ideas, innovation and technology.

The government’s commitment to shifting from traditional export models toward knowledge-based industries.

There is need a national reawakening rooted in knowledge, innovation and technological prowess,“ the Minister expressed these views while addressing a policy dialogue titled, “Science, Technology, and Engineering for Development (STED)-2025: Innovate, Integrate and Implement”, here at the Pakistan Academy of Sciences (PAS) on Thursday.

The minister urged a national pivot toward realigning Pakistan’s science, technology and engineering (STE) infrastructure with its development ambitions. He said that Pakistan now must reclaim its intellectual heritage not by looking backwards with nostalgia, but by moving forward with urgency, vision, investment and action.

He said that an export-led economy is the heartbeat of the “Uraan Pakistan” initiative. He said that there is need for a move beyond textiles to sectors such asagri-tech, health tech, and edu-tech, which he called “the real engines of growth in the 21st century.

The minister emphasised that today’s global competition is not about oil and gas; it is about skills, technology, and the ability to innovate.

He said that the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government’s initiative to establish Daanish University, which he described as a “game changer” in the country’s pursuit of technological excellence.

The minister said the government has placed science and technology at the centre of its development strategy, the Five E’s framework that focused on exports, e-Pakistan, equity and empowerment, environment, and energy and infrastructure.

He said that just a day earlier, a batch of 1,000 agricultural scientists had left for China for advanced training. Calling them “game changers” in facing the challenges of a third Green Revolution, he noted with pride that 50 per cent of the cohort of 300 scientists comprised women.

Speaking about Muslim rule’s history, the minister said that Islamic Spain, centuries ago, was home to 70 public libraries that introduced Europe to scientific knowledge through Arabic translations.

According to United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Institute for Statistics, he said that the average Research and Development (R&D) spending in Muslim-majority countries was only 0.3 percent of GDP compared to 2.5 to 4 percent in developed countries. While regretting, he said, “we went from being leaders of knowledge to consumers of technology, and this is a wake-up call.”

He said that there was a time when the Muslim world led the world in thought. But today, he said the Muslim world represented 25 percent of the global population but contributed less than two percent to scientific advancement.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2025