PM Shehbaz says Pakistan set for rapid growth in key sectors

Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday took part in the 56th Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, where he is scheduled to engage in a series of high-level activities aimed at projecting Pakistan’s economic outlook and strengthening global partnerships.

The prime minister has a busy day ahead in Davos. He will attend the Pakistan Breakfast event and address the gathering, highlighting Pakistan’s economic priorities, reform agenda, and opportunities for international cooperation, a Prime Minister’s Office news release said.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will also participate in an informal meeting of global leaders, held under the theme “The Importance of Dialogue in a Divided Global Landscape.” The discussion is expected to focus on fostering cooperation, reducing global polarization, and promoting dialogue to address shared challenges.

On the sidelines of the forum, the prime minister is expected to meet the Managing Director of a leading international financial institution, as well as hold several bilateral and informal meetings with world leaders to discuss economic collaboration, investment prospects, and regional and global developments.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif says Pakistan is going to take off rapidly in agriculture, industry, mining, Artificial Intelligence and Information Technology.

He was speaking at the "Pakistan Breakfast" in Davos today, on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum. Highlighting government's untiring efforts, the Prime Minister said macroeconomic indicators are pretty reassuring, inflation rate is down from 30 percent to 5.5 percent, policy rate declined from a steep 22.5 percent to 10.5 percent, while IT exports are showing significant progress.

Emphasizing an export-led growth, Shehbaz Sharif said the government brought structural reforms in the revenue collection system. He added that tax collection to GDP ratio is 10.5 percent today, which was nine percent a couple of years ago. 

The Prime Minister said agri-exports are also on the rise.  He said Pakistan has signed agreements with American and Chinese companies. He said now the government has decided to move forward at lightning speed in diverse areas, including crypto, Artificial Intelligence, and IT. He said the government is extending all possible facilitation to enhance IT exports, including training and certification.

Shehbaz Sharif said Pakistan has strong economic connections with China and the United States.  He expressed the hope that there will be more cooperation in the fields of mines and minerals, counter-terrorism, information technology and the artificial intelligence. 

Shehbaz Sharif further said the government is encouraging the private sector and it recently completed the privatization of Pakistan International Airlines in a transparent manner. He said now the government is going to outsource airports, privatize power distribution companies, and transmission lines.