Government focusing on economic reforms to bring Pakistan among middle income countries: Bakhtyar

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Planning, Development & Reforms Makhdoom Khusro Bakhtyar on Tuesday said that the government was working on a robust economic plan to introduce structural economic reforms to bring Pakistan among the middle income countries in the long run.

“Improving tax administration, encouraging financial institutions to expand the range of savings and investment instruments, reducing the procedures, cost and time associated with investing, improving management practices and supporting technology extensions would bring about economic turnaround for the country,” he said while talking to Country Director World Bank Patchamuthu Illangovan who along a delegation called on him in Islamabad.

Read More: World Bank pledges to continue supporting Pakistan economic reforms

Secretary Planning Zafar Hasan, Member Infrastructure Malik Ahmed Khan, Project Director CPEC Hassan Daud Butt and senior officials of the Ministry were also present in the meeting.

The Minister stated that government offers friendly investment policies and Pakistan is emerging as one of the attractive destinations for foreign investment. He said that efforts were underway to improve governance with a particular focus on e-governance in order to enhance productivity.

He underlined the need to streamline the PC-1 preparation process for efficient planning and designing of projects. The Minister stressed on immediate need to enhance the tax revenues to 20% of GDP and simultaneously increase the domestic savings rate to 20% of GDP.

Earlier on Thursday, Minister for Finance Asad Umar constituted a committee headed by State Minister for Revenue Hammad Azhar to come up with a “massive and comprehensive” reforms programme before the end of fiscal year 2018.

The committee will watch over the reforms agenda aiming at short, medium and long-term strategies for optimal revenue generation and resource mobilisation.