ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Finance Muhammad Aurangzeb has said that mobilizing private-sector capital is essential for sustaining Pakistan’s economic growth and ensuring long-term stability.
The finance minister said the country must avoid returning to a repeated cycle of economic booms and downturns.
He stressed that stronger cooperation between the government and private sector would be critical to maintaining the gains achieved through recent economic measures.
In this regard, Aurangzeb said the government was pursuing a structural reform agenda aimed at creating a more stable and sustainable economic environment.
He focused on that private investment would play an increasingly important role in supporting economic activity and development.
The finance minister identified public-private partnerships (PPPs) and privatization as important mechanisms for bringing greater private-sector participation into the economy.
He said private investment should be expanded in infrastructure and public-service projects through PPP arrangements.
Aurangzeb also stressed that transparency, efficiency and investor confidence would remain key priorities in the privatization process.
The finance minister said Pakistan had achieved economic stability through difficult decisions, but maintaining that stability would require continued reforms.
He said reforms were continuing in several key areas, including energy, taxation, state-owned enterprises and privatization. The government, he added, would need to remain focused on implementing these measures to prevent the economy from slipping back into previous cycles of instability.
Aurangzeb reiterated that strengthening the partnership between the government and private sector was necessary for achieving sustainable economic development.
He also pointed to an increase in Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) collections, saying FBR revenue had risen by around 40 percent over the past several years. The tax-to-GDP ratio, he added, had improved from 8.8 percent to 10.3 percent.
IT and Export Sectors Offer Further Potential
Aurangzeb said Pakistan’s IT services exports reached $4.6 billion during the last financial year, with freelancers contributing $1.6 billion.
He added that merchandise exports remained around $30 billion, but stressed that further efforts were needed to expand the country’s export base.
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The minister said ongoing reforms in taxation, energy, state-owned enterprises and privatization were aimed at creating a stronger foundation for sustainable economic growth and greater private-sector participation.
