EAC for making Pakistan a regionally competitive economy
Mohammad Arshad Islamabad
The Economic Advisory Council (EAC), Tuesday, noted that the objective of all the efforts made by the economic team of the government was to take economic growth to around 6-7% in a couple of years to make Pakistan a regionally competitive economy
EAC met here with Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin in the chair and he welcomed the participants and highlighted the objective of the formation of Economic Advisory Council, which is the promotion of evidence based policy formation and reforms with the effective consultation and feedback from all important stakeholders.
Dr. Ishrat Hussain, Advisor to PM on Institutional Reforms and Austerity, introduced the sub-groups and briefly highlighted the most important challenges in respective sectors.
He said that increasing the share of direct taxes, energy cost rationalization, , focusing on education & health, increasing investment to GDP ratio and reducing the cost of doing business are the top priorities of the Government.
After the brief introduction, the EAC Groups gave presentations on the topics namely Inclusive and sustainable growth, Housing and construction sector, Industry and Exports, Agriculture, Revenue and Expenditure, Financial Sector and Debt Management, Energy, Social Protection and Domestic Commerce.
The Finance Minister appreciated the hard work done by the sub-groups in formulating their proposals and directed to form liaison with key stakeholders for obtaining valuable feedback and crystallizing input.
He underscored that the detailed interaction which is taking place at this forum will prove an effective tool for policy making. He also affirmed his support and facilitation for all sub-groups on the occasion.
The meeting was participated by Minister for Energy, Minister for Industries and Production, Adviser to PM on Commerce, SA PM on Finance and Revenue, SA PM on Ehsaas, SA PM on National Food Security, Chairman BOI, Chairman NPHDA, Chairman SECP, Governor SBP and leading representatives of the private sector which are the notified members of EAC.
