Muhammad Saeed Sami assumes charge as caretaker Planning Minister

August 20, 2023 (MLN): Muhammad Sami Saeed, a retired bureaucrat, on Thursday assumed charge as the caretaker Federal Minister for Planning Development & Special Initiatives, marking a significant development in the country’s economic landscape.

The Caretaker Federal Minister has an extensive experience in Planning, Development & Economic affairs.

On his arrival at the ministry, he was warmly welcomed by the Secretary Planning Ministry, Syed Zafar Ali Shah and senior officials of the Ministry.

Later, the Minister chaired a meeting in which he was given a detailed briefing by the Secretary Planning Ministry about the functioning and responsibilities of the ministry and ongoing development and strategic initiatives of the ministry particularly the Public Sector Development Program (PSDP), Annual Plan, China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and Special Investment Facilitation Center (SIFC).

While chairing the meeting, the Minister said that all officers of the ministry should work for the development of the country with full dedication and hard work.

The Minister said that implementation of public welfare projects should be ensured while special attention should be paid to quality of the projects.

Highlighting the importance of education, the minister said that more attention should be given in increasing the quality of education in the country.

Muhammad Sami Saeed, joined the Civil Service of Pakistan (District Management Group/Pakistan Administrative Service) in 1980 and held important positions in Government and International Organizations.

He was Executive Director on the Board of Directors of the Asian Development Bank, Cabinet Secretary to the Government of Pakistan and Principal Staff Officer to the Prime Minister.

He served in Punjab as Chairman Planning and Development Board, Senior Member Board of Revenue, Additional Chief Secretary and Secretary of Agriculture and Excise and Taxation Departments.

He held key positions in the Ministry of Finance of Pakistan, including Secretary of the National Finance Commission, Additional Secretary (Internal Finance and Banking), Joint Secretary (Provincial Finance and Development), Deputy Secretary (External Finance and International Financial Relations) and Additional Finance Secretary (Budget) in Punjab.

He also served as Deputy Commissioner Faisalabad and Assistant Commissioner Khanewal.

He worked as Director on the Board of Directors of major banks and financial institutions, including United Bank, Allied Bank, Bank of Punjab and Agriculture Development Bank of Pakistan.

Similarly, the Minister represented the Government of Pakistan in various bilateral negotiations and international conferences including the World Economic Forum 2007 in Davos, Switzerland as well as bilateral and multilateral negotiations.

As Executive Director on the Board of Directors of the Asian Development Bank, he paid official visits to many member countries around the world and interacted with the highest levels of Government there.

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