‘Govt to plan economic growth strategy soon’

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‘Govt to plan economic growth strategy soon’

* Finance minister says country has great potential for growth

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Finance and Economic Affairs, Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh on Thursday said the government is planning to formulate a comprehensive economic growth strategy soon to benefit the people.

Addressing the participants of a seminar titled “growth policy” jointly organised by Planning Commission and Department for International Development (DFID-UK), he said that the new growth strategy would help improve competitiveness, promote investment based on innovation and entrepreneurship and better exploit the potentials of country’s large domestic market. “The government wants to pass on the benefit of its policies to all people — not the “chosen few.”

Dr Hafeez said it is the priority of the government that benefits of its policies should reach to all segment of the society, specially the poor, for the socio economic prosperity of the country.

The minister said the government is also facilitating the private sector as the engine of the economic growth to achieve this objective. He said it is not the job of the government to run businesses “but its real job is to make policies and regulations, which promote business activities and economic growth for the prosperity of the country.”

Shaikh said the government has initiated prudent economic policies for the prosperity of the country. He expressed hope that during the current financial year the exports of the country would cross $22 billion.

He also stressed the need for adopting long-term result-oriented policies for the economic growth and prosperity of the country.

One of the UK government’s chief economists, Professor Alan Winters also delivered a lecture on the topic “growth policy”. In his lecture Professor Alan Winters stressed the need for the inextricable link between economic growth and poverty reduction.

Moreover, Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh and Deputy Chairman Planning Commission Dr Nadeem ul Haq thanked the visiting UK professor to Pakistan and his lecture on growth policy to benefit the policymakers and development experts.

Deputy Chairman Planning Commission, Dr Nadeem ul Haq and officials of the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs also attended the seminar. staff report

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