ISLAMABAD
\nFederal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives, Professor Ahsan Iqbal, chaired a high-level meeting on Tuesday to review the progress of Special Economic Zones (SEZs) under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
\nThe meeting was attended by senior officials from the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC), the Board of Investment (BOI) and the Ministry of Planning.
\nAccording to a press release, officials from the SIFC briefed the participants on the latest updates regarding the infrastructure and operational status of SEZs across the country.
\nThe minister emphasized the importance of ensuring investor facilitation, noting that imposing excessive costs on investors could deter their interest. He stressed that providing efficient and investor-friendly facilities should be a top priority of the government.
\nHe highlighted that Pakistan\u2019s development trajectory has faced hurdles over the past 77 years.
\nDrawing lessons from countries such as China, South Korea, Vietnam, and Malaysia, he identified political stability, peace, policy continuity, and reforms as the four key elements for sustainable development.
\nCiting Turkey\u2019s rapid progress under Tayyip Erdogan\u2019s leadership and India\u2019s growth despite challenges like corruption, Ahsan Iqbal underscored the importance of consistent policies for economic growth.
\nHe expressed concern about the disparity in economic performance between Pakistan and its regional counterparts, urging a long-term commitment to economic reforms.
\n\u201cIf, by 2047, the per capita income of Indian Muslims surpasses ours, what will we tell our future generations?\u201d he remarked and termed the next 23 years as critical for Pakistan to compete in the global development race.
\nThe minister emphasized the need to prioritize the operationalization of existing SEZs over establishing new ones. He directed the concerned authorities to ensure the provision of basic infrastructure, including electricity and water, in all SEZs and to align the rules of technology zones with those of economic zones for enhanced synergy.
\nAdditionally, he stressed learning from Vietnam\u2019s SEZ model and adopting their best practices to improve the performance of Pakistan\u2019s industrial zones.
\nTo address the energy challenges in Gilgit-Baltistan, Ahsan Iqbal instructed relevant authorities to facilitate Chinese solar companies in initiating solar energy projects in the region. He also called for the development of an action plan and monitoring matrix to accelerate the population of industrial zones, with all ministries and provinces playing a proactive role in this effort.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ISLAMABAD Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives, Professor Ahsan Iqbal, chaired a high-level meeting on Tuesday to review the progress of Special Economic Zones (SEZs) under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). The meeting was attended by senior officials from the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC), the Board of Investment (BOI) and the Ministry […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-451497","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-business"},"yoast_head":"\n