By Ali Imran
ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for IT and Telecommunication Syed Amin Ul Haque on Tuesday vowed to take the Information Technology export to $5 billion by the end of 2023.
Addressing a day-long Pre-Budget Business Conference, the minister said on the directions of the Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, the IT ministry had set a target of $15 billion IT export for the next three years.
The minister said that during 2017-18, the IT exports reached $995 million. During the last financial year, the IT export crossed $2.1 billion. Pakistan would surpass $3 billion IT exports target during the current financial year.
He said the IT exports would cross the figure of textile exports provided that the IT ministry was given special incentives.
The minister said all the decisions were being taken in the IT ministry on merit and there was complete transparency in its affairs amid the zero corruption.
The minister said during the last three and half years, about Rs. 60 billion had been invested to improve the connectivity of the under-served and remote areas of the country. “Improving connectivity is imperative to put the country on the road of progress, prosperity, and development” he added.
He said that all the decisions had been taken in the Information Technology sector with the consultation of all the stakeholders.
Sharing other achievements of his ministry, the minister said that the Right of Way bill was passed while the cyber security policy was also approved.
He said the Personal Data Protection Bill had been passed by the federal cabinet six months ago.
Prime Minister had been requested to provide tax exemption on IT exports till 2025 in the upcoming budget. He said that PM had also been asked to withdraw 17 percent duty on the import of laptops.
Earlier, Finance Minister Miftah Ismail said on Tuesday that the country needed $41 billion dollars in the next 12 months, adding that he was “very confident” about it happening.
“We have to pay back $21bn in the next year. I am guessing that the outside limit of the current account deficit will be $12bn I think that we should have reserves of at least three months […] So we need $41bn over the next 12 months and I think it will happen,” he said, adding that he was “very confident”, without elaborating further.
Addressing the Pre-Budget Business Conference organised by the government in Islamabad, the minister outlined the problems plaguing the country’s economy.
He said that the Shehbaz Sharif government had re-engaged with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). “We talked to them and we are very, very confident that we will soon have an agreement with the IMF. We are very, very confident of that.”
He went on to say that the current coalition government had taken tough decisions to stabilise the economy.
“It is not easy for any prime minister to allow an increase in the price of fuel they way we have, twice of Rs30 each, but we were losing Rs84 per litre on diesel and Rs69 per litre on petrol.”
That loss would have been Rs120bn per month if we had continued to provide the fuel subsidy, the minister said. He went on to say that the cost of running the government of Pakistan was a little more than Rs40bn.
“We were spending thrice the amount of running the government on this subsidy,” he said, adding that it was also in contravention with the agreement the former government had signed with the IMF.
He claimed that the former government had promised the IMF to not give a fuel subsidy while also imposing a Rs30 levy and 17 per cent sales tax. “If I had followed the agreements [inked] by Shaukat Tarin and Imran Khan, I would either have been kicked out of the job or the price of petrol and diesel would be Rs300.”
He reiterated that the former government “laid a trap” for the current rulers by providing the fuel subsidy. However, he assured the businessmen that the government would stabilise the economy.
“We will take tough decisions because this is our country. It is our job to stabilise it and we will leave it in a better condition,” he vowed. He also highlighted that the government had recently engaged with Saudi Arabia, China, the United Arab Emirates and other countries for this purpose.
Ismail said that the government had prepared a “very progressive budget” but would also focus on fiscal control and consolidation, vowing to reduce the budget deficit.
He opined that Pakistan’s growth model was imperfect as the current account deficit always became an issue for economic growth. “Our imagination is limited and finance ministers meet with people like you and make tycoons richer,” he told the businessmen.
“When we do that, our imports increase because our consumption basket is very big,” he said.
