ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s caretaker administration is striving to revive national economy by encouraging structural adjustments and focusing on exports, said leading members of Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar’s interim cabinet following a meeting of the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) on Friday.
The council, which is based on civil-military collaboration, is designed to expedite decision-making processes and foster foreign investment, with a particular focus on attracting financial contributions from Gulf nations.
A notification issued on June 17 from the office of former prime minister Shehbaz Sharif said the SIFC would seek investment in various sectors, including energy, information technology, minerals, defense, and agriculture. The body, which has the army chief and other military leaders in key roles, aims to take a “unified approach” to steer the country out of economic crisis.
Addressing a news conference after the meeting, finance minister Shamshad Akhtar emphasized greater coordination within the government to ensure the country’s economic revival.
“We are making a very sincere effort to define our roadmap to augment the macroeconomic management of the country,” she said. “And as you know, macroeconomic management is anchored in fiscal stability along with fiscal coordination with monetary and external policies.”
She maintained the government was trying to find a way to revive the economy, adding that reforms were indispensable in that regard.
“During the period, when structural adjustment reform plan will be implemented, we will try to enhance different areas of social safety nets in which financial inclusion is most important,” the minister said.
Addressing the media, commerce minister Dr. Gohar Ejaz noted the promotion of exports was vital to strengthen Pakistan’s economy.
“Employment opportunities can be provided to people by increasing exports,” he said, adding: “If the domestic export industry starts working, the dollar rate can come down to Rs250.”
Earlier, a notification was issued by the PM Office, saying the fifth meeting of SIFC’s apex committee had been held “with a singular focus to improve the overall business and investment environment of the country.”
The meeting was attended by the army chief, provincial and federal ministers, and senior government functionaries, with relevant ministries presenting their plans and roadmaps to address macroeconomic challenges, governance-related obstacles, and regulatory deficiencies.
“The committee deliberated upon various measures to be taken in short, medium and long term to reap the envisaged dividends, [while] various practical steps were approved by the prime minister that to be operationalized as soon as possible,” the statement added.
The prime minister urged the ministries to achieve optimal results regardless of the limited time available to the interim government. He emphasized the importance of laying a robust foundation for the future government.
Pakistan has reportedly approved 20 projects to present for potential multibillion-dollar investments from Gulf and other states within the SIFC framework.
The selected projects include a range of initiatives, such as the Saudi Aramco Refinery, Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) Gas Pipeline, Thar Coal Rail Connectivity, 245-megawatt hydropower projects in Gilgit-Baltistan, the development of cloud infrastructure, and the deployment of telecom infrastructure.
