PM Shehbaz Launches 5-Year Transformation Plan for Economy ‘Uraan Pakistan’

Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif Tuesday unveiled ‘Uraan Pakistan’ – the homegrown National Economic Plan (2024-29), a journey to a trillion-dollar economy by 2035, at a ceremony in Islamabad.  Addressing the launching ceremony, the premier said the plan is aimed at steering Pakistan toward sustainable growth from the macroeconomic stability. He stressed the need for reducing cost of the inputs like electricity and gas to ensure sustainable growth.  The prime minister said local industry should be made more compatible to save foreign exchange and increase exports. He said export-led growth is the only option to strengthen the economy. He said the government has set an investment target of $10 billion annually and an enabling environment is being created to attract local investment as well.  Speaking at the occasion, Minister for Finance a Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb said that Uraan Pakistan 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. The 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.  Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal described the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) and the CPEC-5Cs (Corridors) framework as two ‘golden opportunities’ for Pakistan to transform its 5Es framework into a reality.  “The SIFC and CPEC corridors are very well aligned with our 5Es (Exports, Equity and Empowerment, E-Pakistan, Environment & Climate Change, and Energy and Infrastructure) framework, and are helpful in its implementation,” he said while giving a presentation on Uraan Pakistan.  Elaborating the opportunities, he said that more and more foreign investment could be attracted through the SIFC, with anticipated investment flows of $29 billion by friendly countries such as the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Azerbaijan, and Kuwait.  The second opportunity, he said, was the five Cs (Growth Corridor, Livelihood Enhancing Corridor, Innovation Corridor, Green Corridor, and Opening-Up Corridors) under the second phase of the CPEC.  The minister said Pakistan’s economy stood at a critical crossroads, dealing with a number of deep-rooted challenges like declining growth, poor export performance, political instability, lack of policy continuity, fiscal and current account deficits, a fractured socio-economic platform, an overly regulated business environment, population explosion, and the youth bulge, emerging shifts in the industrial revolution of 4.0 and 5.0, climate change vulnerability, inefficiency and unaffordability of energy, and widening social disparities, all of which needed to be addressed effectively. Iqbal regretted that the federal government’s resources were being used primarily for debt servicing, adding that it was essential to increase the existing resources, tax revenue and exports so that self-reliance could be achieved. He said no country could progress without developing its human resources, noting that Pakistan was far behind in South Asia when comparing economic indicators, human resource development and digital transformation figures with other countries. The minister advocated adopting a transformative strategy, grounded in the 5Es framework, unlocking its full economic potential, which could enable the country to become a one trillion-dollar economy by 2035 and a three-trillion-dollar economy by 2047.