ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Prof Ahsan Iqbal presided over a meeting here on Thursday to speed up the implementation of the 5 Es framework.
According to a press release from the ministry, the decision to hold the one-day workshop was taken during a meeting with top officials of the ministry to gather recommendations from experts from academia and the private sector.
In addition, a future agenda for the implementation of the Energy, Capital, E-Pakistan and Environment (5 E) export framework would be proposed to formulate long-term policies for implementation in these sectors.
It is pertinent to mention here that during the previous tenure of the government, the Ministry of Planning under Ahsan Iqbal formulated the 5 Es framework which was also approved by the National Economic Council (NEC).
Speaking on the occasion, Ahsan Iqbal said that the highest responsibility of the Planning Commission is to pinpoint the economic and development priorities.
He said that in order to make progress, there was a need to raise revenue and boost exports. In addition, he emphasized that traditional methods must be overcome to achieve progress on a sustainable basis.
He said that the entire planning ministry will be digitalized in the next six months and will fully activate the e-governance system.
Citing the examples of India and Bangladesh, he reiterated that the continuation of the policies was a prerequisite to lead the country to stability and development. He said that Pakistan was currently facing economic problems and emphasized the need to increase revenue and exports.
He said the principles of development have changed drastically worldwide as artificial intelligence, big data and automation are pushing the whole system towards a new stability.
He emphasized that the desired results of progress and development cannot be achieved by traditional methods.
The Federal Minister for Planning emphasized the importance of networking so that the best capabilities of the entire nation can be harnessed. He tasked officials to ensure efficiency at the highest level. Ahsan directed officials to complete PC-1 at the planning ministry within 15 days while improving the monitoring system. He emphasized the urgent need to build the human resource base to the level of Dr. Mahboob ul Haq and Sartaj Aziz for the best planning.
