IMF agreement laid basis for economic reforms: PM

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif reiterated his call for the nation to unite on Charter of Economy to ensure the consistency of economic policies and put the country on the course towards progress and prosperity.

The prime minister, addressing the groundbreaking ceremony of Islamabad Model Special Economic Zone, the prime minister said the government would abide by the IMF agreement which had laid a basis for the economic reforms.

He said with the signing of the IMF agreement, the risks for default had ebbed away and the country would have to focus on boosting exports to compete with the neighboring states, particularly the eastern neighbour.

He said the Islamabad Model Special Economic Zone was launched with a delay of five years as nine SEZs were planned to be built under China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

He said despite the land and designs finalized for the SEZs in Punjab, the previous government not only impeded the projects but also made a conscious effort to undermine the Pak-China ties.

The prime minister said that during Nawaz Sharif’s tenure, $30 billion Chinese investment came to the country in form of CPEC featuring power and road projects.

He told the gathering that after the Chinese industry has gone hi-tech, Pakistan had the golden opportunity to learn from the Chinese textile expertise, form joint ventures, and bring Chinese second-hand machinery to Pakistan to boost its exports.

He said during the last 14 months, the incumbent government remained in “fire-fighting” as it had to cope with the unprecedented floods and record inflation begotten by the Ukraine war.

The prime minister said after the IMF agreement, the government would mainly focus on boosting the industrial and agriculture sectors.

He told the gathering that a Special Investment Facilitation Council has been established with a mandate to attract investment to the agriculture, mining, information technology, and exports sectors.

Citing Bangladesh’s $40 billion export of imported cotton, the prime minister said that successful nations always learned lessons from past mistakes and strived to cope with the challenge.

“Now we will have to get out of the loans and attract investment. This is what the Model Special Economic Zone is for to attract investment from China, UAE, Qatar, and others to take Pakistan at par with the neighbouring nations,” he added.

PM Shehbaz said in the past, the SEZ turned into a development estate and the people have been minting money.

Emphasizing the provision of land to the investors in SEZs on easy terms, he said the land in the Bahawalpur Solar Park was leased out at just $1 to the investors which was inevitable for the investors to save its capital to set up the industry.

He also called for establishing a mechanism to cancel the lease agreement if the investor failed to develop the industry within the specified timeframe.

In his address, Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal said after 2020, the establishment of nine industrial zones was agreed under CPEC but the previous government put all the projects on the backburner. The officers were implicated in the false cases which begot a crisis of decision-making, he added.

He said the incumbent government took up the SEZs on a priority basis and started reviving the stalled projects as Rashakai SEZ was about to be inaugurated.

The minister said the country had no other option but to take its exports to $100 billion. He said these SEZs will act as a powerhouse to boost exports and suggested that land should be provided on easy terms to the investors.