Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue, Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb on Tuesday said that the five-year homegrown national economic Plan, “Uraan Pakistan” (2024-29) would help achieve sustainable economic growth through competitiveness and productivity.
This comprehensive five-year economic plan (2024-29) has three main pillars including stimulating the Private sector; stimulating exports; and optimizing the public debt, the minister said while addressing the groundbreaking ceremony of the plan.
He said the main focus of the plan was to achieve 6 percent annual Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth by 2028.
Finance Minister said tax reform is the hallmark of this five-year program through which the government wanted to achieve 13.5 percent tax-to-GDP ratio. He said, the transformation of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and separation of tax policy from tax collection was a government priority.
He highlighted that the government would ensure continuity of policies and enhancement of productivity to revive economy adding exploration of new markets; diversification of exports; lowering the exchange rate were the key for sustainable export-led economic growth.
The minister termed export-led growth and main role of private sector to run economy as pivot of this five-year national economic plan.
He said, this was second homegrown five economic plans after the first comprehensive economic plan presented by the Leader of Pakistan Muslim League- N and former Prime Minister, Muhammad Nawaz Sharif’s government in 1991, which laid the foundation for economic growth.
The finance minister said that the government has achieved economic stability and now the journey has started for sustainable economic growth, adding all the economic indicators were showing positive results.
The finance minister said that after 24 years, “we achieved a sustainable economic surplus and also achieved the foreign account surplus in the current fiscal year 2024-25.”
Talking about the positive economic indicators, he said that currently, the policy rate has decreased by 12 percent whereas inflation decelerated from 38 percent to 3 percent and the default rate also reduced to 93%.
“We achieved economic growth but for sustainable economic growth, the country needs a comprehensive economic strategy,” the minister remarked
He said that decline in policy rate would benefit business community and help towards the overall business activities and economic development.—APP
