ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s improved economic and financial situation presents a unique opportunity for Pakistan to reinforce and build on recent stability gains and to work towards achieving higher, sustainable and inclusive economic growth.
Minister for Finance Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar expressed these views while addressing Asian Development Bank (ADB) Board of Governors meeting in Baku (Azerbaijan) on Monday.
“This will require further bolstering government revenues through broadening the tax base and improving compliance in order to generate the resources that will allow for further reducing public debt while increasing spending in priority areas such as public investment, health and education”, according to a message received here.
Finance Minister Ishaq Dar who is currently visiting Baku to represent Pakistan in the ADB Board of Governors meeting, said that compared to the 3.4 percent growth in 2014, overall global growth was projected to reach 3.5 percent and 3.8 percent in 2015 and 2016 respectively.
In this setting, he said, raising actual and potential output continued to be a general policy priority.
Dar said in many advanced economies, accommodative monetary policy remained essential to support economic activity and lift inflation expectations.
“There is also a strong case for increasing infrastructure investment in some economies and for implementing structural reforms to boost potential output. In many emerging market economies, however, macroeconomic policy space to support growth remains limited”, he added.
The Finance Minister said that it was encouraging to note that the Asia-Pacific region remained the leader for global growth.
With China and India, he said converging to 5.5 percent growth on average for 2015-2019, Southeast Asia will continue to become a global production hub.
He said that this was evident from the strong growth in the last few years that have boosted job opportunities, improved standards of living and lifted millions out of poverty.
“We must, however, keep the momentum going. We must remain vigilant of risks and vulnerabilities that could derail the recovery of the global economy and progress made in alleviating poverty in the region”, he added.
The ADB’s Asian Development Outlook (ADO) 2015, he said projects that Developing Asia will grow at a steady 6.3 percent in 2015 & 2016, supported by a strengthening recovery in the major industrial economies and soft global commodity prices.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB), he said, has been a trusted development partner for the regional countries.
“The merger of Ordinary OCR and ADF financial resources will enhance ADB’s financial capacity and is an innovative and interesting approach to address the Bank’s longer-term sustainability. It is, however, of crucial importance that this arrangement will not affect negatively the ADB’s principal objective of reducing poverty in the region”, he added.
Highlighting the economic performance of the government, he said that since assuming office in June 2013, it has put in place a forward looking reform agenda.
“We have taken painful yet necessary reforms resulting in stabilization of the economy. We have set 4 Es i.e Energy, Economy, eliminating Extremism and Education as our priorities. It is encouraging that the development partners’ Country Partnership Strategies are aligned with our economic development priorities. However, our government is fully aware that there is no space for complacency”, he said.
