PM Shehbaz Highlights Economic Recovery and Push for Export-Led Growth
DAVOS : Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Wednesday that Pakistan’s economy is showing clear signs of recovery and moving forward with renewed confidence, as key economic indicators continue to strengthen.
Speaking at an event at the Pakistan Pavilion on the sidelines of the 56th Annual Meetings of the World Economic Forum, the prime minister said the country had achieved macroeconomic stability after undertaking difficult but necessary reforms and was now firmly focused on export-led growth and sustainable development.
“Our inflation has come down sharply from 30 percent to 5.5 percent, while the policy rate has been reduced from 22.5 percent to 10.5 percent,” he said, adding that the improvement reflected disciplined economic management.
He noted that Pakistan’s IT exports had shown steady progress and now stood at around $3 billion annually through offshore channels.
The prime minister acknowledged that Pakistan’s exports continued to face challenges but said the direction ahead was clear. “Pakistan has to pursue export-led growth,” he said, identifying reforms in revenue collection as a central pillar of the strategy.
He said the government had introduced fundamental changes in the tax system, which was being fully digitized. As a result, the tax-to-GDP ratio had risen to 10.5 percent from 9 percent a few years ago, calling it a significant achievement.
Highlighting sectoral opportunities, Shehbaz Sharif said agricultural exports had performed well over the past year, while Pakistan was entering the mining and minerals sector.
He said agreements had been signed with American and Chinese companies to tap the country’s vast untapped resources in Gilgit-Baltistan, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.
The prime minister said Pakistan was also moving rapidly into emerging fields such as information technology, artificial intelligence and crypto, describing the country’s large youth population as both a challenge and an opportunity.
He said the federal and provincial governments were jointly implementing programs to empower young people through vocational and technical training, citing the role of the National Vocational and Technical Training Commission (NVTTC). He noted that its programs were subject to third-party audits and international certification, enabling Pakistani youth to secure productive employment in Gulf countries and beyond.
On foreign relations, he said Pakistan maintained strong economic ties with China and was building cooperation with the United States, particularly in mining, minerals, counterterrorism and technology.
The prime minister also highlighted transparent privatization efforts, including Pakistan International Airlines, and said further privatization and outsourcing were planned for airports, power distribution companies and transmission lines.
Referring to the IMF program, he said Pakistan had met stringent conditions in letter and spirit, adding that the Fund was now citing Pakistan as a success story for developing countries.
On structural reforms, he said the government had taken tough decisions to shut down loss-making and inefficient state entities.
He said the Utility Stores Corporation, which had burdened the national exchequer and provided substandard goods, had been closed to save public money. He added that the Pakistan Agricultural Storage and Services Corporation (PASSCO) and the Pakistan Public Works Department (PWD) had also been shut down, resulting in savings of billions of rupees despite resistance from vested interests.
“We are at a point where Pakistan is about to take off,” he said, stressing unity, transparency and sustained reforms as essential to achieving long-term growth and prosperity.
