Federal Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal has emphasized that Pakistan must increase its exports to $100 billion in the next five years to sustain the economy.
The minister made these remarks while briefing the meeting of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly on Planning chaired by Khalid Hussain Magsi.
The minister said that the government is focused on increasing the country’s export potential as Pakistan’s future depends upon it.
The planning minister said that due to its geographical location Pakistan can become an international trade hub thanks to China’s Belt and Road Initiative.
He further said that the former government kept calling everyone thieves, and it angered China by accusing the friendly country of expensive projects. “We are now restoring China’s confidence, and the government is all set to hold 11th meeting of the Pakistan-China Joint Coordination Committee on China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).”
He said that China also has the advantage of getting an alternative corridor in CPEC. If even 5 percent of China’s trade starts from Pakistan, it will be of great benefit to Pakistan.
Chinese companies have set up energy projects in IPPs mode, he said adding that the concessional loans were given by China for infrastructure projects.
The minister said due to the high cost of labor in China, more than 80 million new employment opportunities were being created from which Pakistan could benefit.
Ahsan Iqbal said that during the Tehreek-i-Insaaf tenure, there were problems regarding visas for Chinese companies. He said that after the 18th amendment, 58% of the revenue under NFC goes to the provinces, the continuation of economic development policies on a sustainable basis, and political stability is necessary.
In the meeting, member committee Syed Mahmood Shah complained that in his constituency, not a single project was included in the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) 2022-23.
Ahsan Iqbal said the annual funding requirements for Pakistan’s development program were over Rs. 1900 billion, however, the government could manage to set aside only Rs. 700 billion for the current financial year due to financial constraints in the ongoing fiscal year.
The minister said that the PML-N government gave Vision 2010 and then Vision 2025 during its tenure, but the previous government failed to approve the five-year plan.
Ahsan Iqbal added that the whole government was running on borrowing as the tax and non-tax revenues of the federal government would be Rs. 9000 billion this year, out of which Rs. 4000 billion would go to the provinces, and Rs. 4000 billion would be spent on paying debts.
Pakistan’s export problem
It is pertinent to mention here that Pakistan’s trade deficit widened by 55.29 percent during the last fiscal year (FY22), and reached $48.259 billion compared to $31.076 billion during the same period of FY23, according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) data.
The country’s exports increased by 25.51 percent and stood at $31.760 billion in the last fiscal year, compared to FY21.
However, Pakistan’s trade deficit remains unsustainable due to the rampant growth in imports compared to the country’s exports.
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