Islamabad, 6 October 2022 (TDI): The Minister of Planning and Development of Pakistan, Ahsan Iqbal recently highlighted the importance of economic stability.
This took place during the Minister’s participation as the chief guest in the Dialogue on Global Development initiative towards Global Security.
During his address, the Minister said that the whole world is going through an economic crisis. He said that this is because the world has not yet recovered from the shock of the Covid 19 Pandemic.
Correspondingly, he emphasized pushing national productivity to ensure export-led growth.
In this regard, the Minister remarked that commodity prices rose worldwide due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Due to this, many countries saw a high inflation trend which led to an economic crisis.
Moreover, Minister Ahsan added that due to many countries facing this economic crisis, work on the execution of Sustainable Development Goals worldwide has decreased.
The situation in Pakistan
During his remarks, the Minister highlighted the situation in Pakistan. He asserted that Pakistan is paying the price of climate change.
Correspondingly, he highlighted the floods that affected 33 million people throughout the country. The Minister said that in addition to other issues, now Pakistan has to feed an entire generation and the task of reconstruction is another addition to the piled-up issues.
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Accordingly, he highlighted that China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is the biggest project of the Belt and Road Initiative in Pakistan. He said that it has helped build Pakistan’s infrastructure and built a new information highway.
However, according to the Minister, the project could not keep up with its planned speed. This is why the establishment of industrial zones was delayed.
Minister’s Remarks on SDGs
Minister Ahsan also noted that the dialogue offered ample opportunities to understand the global dynamics of global security. He added that it will help the country, facing political instability to tread the path of progress and prosperity.
Moreover, the Minister added that the Balance of payments faced today is slowing down the work for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
He said that the economic-related issues are widely spread and causing great hindrances to the implementation of SDGs. Thus, he added that SDGs cannot be implemented without having economic stability within countries.
Accordingly, he emphasized working together to address the economic and climate crisis faced today before anything else.
