Ready to start five new corridors with China under CPEC: Ahsan Iqbal

Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives, Professor Ahsan Iqbal here on Tuesday reiterated that political stability and continuation of policies were prerequisites to lead the country towards stability and development.

Addressing a press conference after assuming the charge of federal minister, he lamented that political instability and discontinuation of policies had always inflicted the country and blocked the way towards sustainable progress and development.

Citing examples of various countries including India, Turkey, China, Bangladesh, and Korea, the minister said no country had achieved success without consistent policies and political stability.

He said, the last 50 year political history of Pakistan had a negative impact on the implementation and progress of development projects like Vision 2010, Vision 2025, and other five-year plans.

He underlined the importance of making comprehensive decisions and planning for the continued success adding it was imperative to focus on creating an entrepreneurial ecosystem, promoting job creation, and ensuring the success of the youth.

He said, the planning should be made keeping in view the modern infrastructure as digital technology was having great influence on different sectors in the era we were living in.

The minister emphasized the importance of replacing outdated production resources with new ones, by embracing international tools and technologies. This adaptation would help us foster growth in the agriculture and industry.

Ahsan Iqbal said that the government was determined to work honestly on the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) Phase-2 as was done in case of CPEC Phase one where in $25 billion investments were made from 2013 to 2018.

He underlined the need to adopt innovative financing mechanisms, especially considering the limited space in Pakistan’s economic condition to ensure a strong infrastructure.

Talking about the debt situation, he said, it was previous government of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf that took highest loan in the history of Pakistan during 2018, which forced the successive government to take further loans for paying off.

Ahsan also highlighted the importance of collaboration with the private sector to boost Pakistan’s exports. With a target of reaching $100 billion in exports within 7 to 8 years, it is crucial to tap into the potential of the private sector and create an enabling environment for businesses to thrive. He highlighted that the success of Pakistan depended on increasing foreign exchange reserves.