By Asad Cheema
ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives, Professor Ahsan Iqbal presided over a meeting here Thursday to expedite the implementation of the 5 Es Framework.
Decision to organize one day workshop was made during the meeting with top officials of the ministry, to gather recommendations from experts including from academia and the private sector. Additionally, future agenda would also be devised for the implementation of the 5 Es (Export Energy, Equity, E-Pakistan, and Environment) Framework so that long-term policies can be formulated for implementation in these sectors. It is pertinent to mention here that during the previous government tenure, the Ministry of Planning, under the leadership of Ahsan Iqbal had formulated 5 Es Framework which was also approved by the National Economic Council (NEC).
Speaking on the occasion, Ahsan Iqbal said that it was top responsibility of the Planning Commission to determine the economic and developmental priorities accurately. He said that in order to move forward, there was need to increase revenues and boost exports. Additionally, he emphasized that traditional methods needed to be transcended for achieving progress on sustainable grounds. He said, the entire Ministry of Planning will be shifted to a digital system in next six months adding it would fully activate the e-governance system.
Citing examples of Indian and Bangladesh, he reiterated that continuation of policies were prerequisites to lead the country towards stability and development.
He said, Pakistan was currently facing economic challenges and highlighted the need to increase revenues and exports. He said the principles of development have drastically changed worldwide as artificial intelligence, big data, and automation are taking the entire system towards new stability. He emphasized that desired results of progress and development could not be achieved through traditional methods.
The Federal Minister for Planning stressed the importance of networking so that the best abilities of the entire nation can be utilized. He instructed officials to ensure top-level efficiency.
Ahsan directed officials to complete PC-1 in the Ministry of Planning within 15 days, while also improving the monitoring system. He emphasized the urgent need to build a human resource base to the level of Dr. Mahboob ul Haq and Sartaj Aziz for the best planning.
