Pakistan eyes productivity-led path to $1tr economy

Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal said on Friday that Pakistan must turn its macroeconomic stability into lasting growth powered by productivity, exports, investment and jobs. Mettis Global, citing APP, reported that he wants the economy reshaped around productivity and export-led expansion to break a repeating pattern of growth, external pressure, stabilisation and slowdown. He argued that cutting spending cannot lift the country, which must instead earn its prosperity through innovation, investment and exports.

The minister placed the country's population of nearly 260 million, its young workforce, location, farm and mineral resources, digital economy and overseas community among its strengths. He presented the government's URAAN Pakistan framework, built on five pillars covering exports and employment, digital transformation, climate and food security, energy and infrastructure, and equity and empowerment. Ahsan Iqbal also described the 2035 goal of a $1tr economy as more than a GDP figure, asking what the country could produce and sell competitively abroad.

He linked the goal to productivity, quality, innovation, human capital, artificial intelligence and climate resilience, and said the private sector should lead investment while the state acts as an enabler. He warned that a young population could become a liability without spending on education, health and skills, and stressed that policy continuity is essential.