The Burki Institute of Public Policy (BIPP) Thursday launched its report “The changing world – Pakistan reset” at a Lahore Chamber of Commerce & Industry (LCCI) ceremony, which was attended by prominent economists from public and private sectors, institutions, academia, civil society organisations, etc.
LCCI President Mian Nauman Kabir, Vice President Haris Ateeq, Shahid Najam, Dr. Farukh Iqbal, Aiman Adnan, Lt-Gen (retd) Ghulam Mustafa and Prof Dr Javed Akram were the key speakers, who underlined the need for short- and long-term effective policies to ensure potential growth of national economy.
They also spelled out the critical challenges that needed to be addressed to achieve the desired pace of economic growth.
The major thrust of the report was to suggest policies to reset the economy to its long-term potential growth path and inextricable nexus between technological advancement and economic development.
LCCI President Mian Nauman Kabir said that the theme of this year’s annual report is “The Changing World – Pakistan Reset” that provides an objective analysis of the economic performance, COVID-19’s impact on selected social sectors, and Pakistan’s options to reposition itself with respect to changing regional geopolitics.
He said that in pre-pandemic time, Pakistan’s economy had just started moving towards stability. Unfortunately, the outbreak of corona pandemic adversely affected the global economy.
Pakistan is now facing stiff economic challenges including high inflation (11.5 per cent), persistent devaluation in currency, relatively excessive policy rate (8.75 per cent), escalating fiscal deficit, continued rise in trade deficit and shrinking of national economy.
“I believe that there is always a way to get out of any crisis,” the LCCI president said and added that the country desperately need a path to economic recovery through devising medium to long term macroeconomic policies. He said, “We are lucky that our country did not plunge into such crises that were unmanageable.”
Mian Nauman Kabir praised the prudent policies of the government which took various measures to stop the further spread of Coronovirus while keeping the economic damage to minimum proportion.
