Pakistan has not fully benefited so far from golden opportunity provided CPEC: Planning Minister

Islamabad: Federal Minister for Planning Development and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal has said that Pakistan had so far not fully benefited from the golden opportunity provided by the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

In a meeting with top Pakistani exporters here, Iqbal lamented that the CPEC provided Pakistan a golden opportunity to turn-around the economy of Pakistan but the opportunity was squandered due to the faulty economic policies by Pakistan in the recent past.

However, he added, “we are committed to reviving the CPEC project. China imports US $2250 Billion worth of goods out of which Pakistan has a meager share of US $ 3 billion, which is dismal,” he mentioned.

The Minister laid emphasis to target the Chinese market and increase market share in the US and European markets so that a progressive export-led economy can be realized adding that the government will support the industrial sector to meet the challenges of global competitiveness.

The Minister contended that vision 2010 and Vision 2025 envisioned revamping the Economic structure and bringing prosperity and development in Pakistan but unfortunately Political instability derailed the journey of progress.

He underscored that export-led growth is the cure for Pakistan’s economic woes.

He informed that the Ministry for Planning Development and Special Initiatives will recommend to Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif that an export emergency should be declared to take the country out of economic quagmire.

The meeting was attended by the Exporters Representatives from Steel, Pharmaceutical and Textile sectors, who also apprised the minister about the problems faced by them in the course of doing business and exporting indigenous products abroad.

The Minister while assuring them about the full-fledged support of the Government remarked that we will provide all-out support to the Industrial sector for resolving their issues.

He also asserted that the business community should present to the Government of any red-tapism or any other bottlenecks in the way of undertaking any venture, “we will cut Red Tape”, said the Minister.

He added that the incumbent government is pursuing a business-friendly policy and promoting a conducive environment for entrepreneurs. The Minister said that in the past, “we learnt to consume instead of earning.”

Iqbal underlined that the survival of the country depended on whether “we can enhance our exports from US $ 32 billion to US $100 billion in the shortest possible time.

“The government stands with the Industrial sector to attract Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and to push exports,” he remarked.

The Minister offered the platform of the Ministry of Planning and Development to the private sector to assist in the resolution of their problems.