Govt aims to increase GDP growth to around 6-7% in coming years: FM

June 02, 2021: The Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue, Shaukat Tarin, chaired the second meeting of the Economic Advisory Council (EAC) at the Finance Division yesterday.

The Finance Minister welcomed the participants and highlighted the objective of the formation of the Economic Advisory Council, which is the promotion of evidence-based policy formation and reforms with effective consultation and feedback from all important stakeholders. He said that the ultimate goal of these consultative meetings is to spur growth and take it to around 6-7% in a couple of years to make Pakistan a regionally competitive economy.

Dr. Ishrat Hussain, Advisor to PM on Institutional Reforms and Austerity, introduced the sub-groups and briefly highlighted the most important challenges in respective sectors. He said that increasing the share of direct taxes, energy cost rationalization, focusing on education & health, increasing investment to GDP ratio and reducing the cost of doing business are the top priorities of the  Government.

After the brief introduction, the EAC Groups gave presentations on the topics namely Inclusive and sustainable growth, Housing and construction sector, Industry and Exports, Agriculture, Revenue and Expenditure, Financial Sector and Debt Management, Energy, Social Protection and Domestic Commerce.

The Finance Minister appreciated the hard work done by the sub-groups in formulating their proposals and directed them to form liaisons with key stakeholders for obtaining valuable feedback and crystallizing input. He underscored that the detailed interaction which is taking place at this forum will prove an effective tool for policymaking. He also affirmed his support and facilitation for all sub-groups on the occasion.

 The Finance Minister especially acknowledged the contribution and ownership provided by the private sector for coming up with innovative ideas that can yield valuable results.

 The meeting was participated by Minister for Energy, Minister for Industries and Production, Adviser to PM on Commerce, SA PM on Finance and Revenue, SA PM on Ehsaas, SA PM on National Food Security, Chairman BOI, Chairman NPHDA, Chairman SECP, Governor SBP and leading representatives of the private sector which are the notified members of EAC.

Press Release