Shaukat Tarin chairs third meeting of Economic Advisory Council

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Shaukat Tarin chaired the third meeting of the Economic Advisory Council (EAC) held at Finance Division today.

In his remarks, the finance minister stressed the importance of long-term planning for achieving sustainable and all-inclusive economic growth.

“Prime Minister has re-constituted EAC, after decades, with an objective to draw up concrete proposals for sustainable economic growth through comprehensive and seamless planning across major sectors by taking all stakeholders on board.”

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“The underlying rationale is to secure the future of coming generations in the country,” the finance minister added.

The EAC meeting was attended by Federal Minister for Industries and Production Makhdoom Khusro Bakhtiar, Federal Minister for Privatisation Muhammad Mian Soomro and Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research Syed Fakhar Imam.

Advisor to the Prime Minister on Commerce Abdul Razak Dawood, SAPM on Finance and Revenue Dr Waqar Masood, Secretary Finance, Secretary Privatisation and Deputy Governor State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), private members including Sultan Ali Allana and Zaid Bashir also attended the meeting.

During the meeting, four sub-groups made presentations on topics namely SOEs & Privatization, Energy, Domestic Commerce and Price Stability, according to a press release.

SAPM Dr Waqar Masood Khan gave a detailed presentation on price stability which included short-term, medium-term and long-term proposals for bringing price stability in the country.

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The SAPM on F&R drew a comparative analysis between prices prevailing in Pakistan and also in the entire region both in current and historical perspectives. Syed Fakhar Imam and Makhdoom Khusro Bakhtiar also gave presentations on price stability.

A presentation on the energy sector was given by Farooq Rehmatullah which highlighted global, regional and local trends in the refining sectors. It also included recommendations for bringing in sustainable solutions to streamline operations from oil downstream to marketing sectors.

Rehmatullah gave suggestions to deal with the challenges faced by Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG), exploration and production sectors and to explore renewable energy resources in the country.

Sultan Ali Allana made a presentation on State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs), whereas, the Secretary Privatisation apprised the EAC participants regarding the ongoing privatisation process.

Allana emphasised the importance of continued review of SOEs portfolio and also highlighted steps for better management of SOEs. His presentation included short-term, medium-term and long-term strategies for better management of the state-owned enterprises in phases.

It also included measures to speed up the privatisation process in a smooth and timely manner.

Zaid Bashir briefed that EAC members regarding the domestic commerce sector where he underlined to enrich and revive the documented sectors and fully realise the true potential of e-commerce during the short-term by bringing retailers into a more organised environment ultimately increasing contribution to the national exchequer.

Tax credit on the enlistment of companies and to incentivise the induction of women in the workforce was suggested as part of medium-term plans, whereas, financing facility for growth of the retailers and tax adjustability was suggested as part of a long term strategy for promoting the domestic commerce sector in the country.

All the participants held an in-depth discussion on proposals presented during the meeting. It has been decided to hold a follow-up session soon.