ISLAMABAD: Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal stressed need for making collective efforts to put country on consistent path of progress and development; saying it was high time to take all Pakistanis along in achieving national goals.

“Time has come to bring all Pakistanis forward and give them an opportunity to play role in development of country,” he said while addressing two-day conference titled ‘Leaders in Islamabad Business Summit-2023,’ here.

He was of view to extend all possible support to business companies earning dollars and contributing to build country’s foreign exchange reserves. He said this year, country faced worst impacts of global climate change and now incumbent government was working to overcome issues of water and food security by switching over to smart agriculture system.

He said China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, key component of China’s Belt and Road Initiative was game-changer project for Pakistani besides entire region of South Asia. He said around $ 29 billion had been invested in CPEC-related project in period of three years.

Ahsan Iqbal regretted that economic policies and projects faced considerable dent during tenure of PTI government, which caused serious damage to national economy and development.

He said it was unfortunate that Pakistan was marking its 75th anniversary but still far behind in achieving its goals of progress and prosperity, mainly due to inconsistent economic policies.

He said when Pakistan celebrated its 50th anniversary, government delegation went to Malaysia to review Vision 2020 and “We found that they have learned from Pakistan.” He said incumbent government was working hard to fully revive CPEC and bring it to its nutrition at earliest.

Published in The Daily National Courier, June, 01 2023

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