Federal Minister for Planning Ahsan Iqbal said on Saturday that he will bring the complaints of the business community to the notice of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
Addressing the third IT Freelancing Award ceremony organised by the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) stalwart said that Punjab Finance Minister Mujtaba Shuja-ur-Rehman should present the difficulties faced by business people before the chief minister .
He said Pakistan is recognised as the fourth-largest freelancing country in the world due to its young population.
The minister said the IT sector does not require heavy investment, adding that a new world can be created with a single laptop. He said people can work for the Middle East and Europe while sitting in a village.
He said the only way for economic growth in Pakistan is the promotion of exports.
Iqbal said: "The Pakistan’s exports stood at $6 billion six in 1990, while Vietnam’s exports were $2.5 billion at that time. Today, the country’s exports are around $40 billion, whereas Vietnam’s exports have reached $450 billion."
He said Pakistan receives 40 billion dollars from abroad, while people working inside the country also contribute $40 billion through exports.
Iqbal calls for approaching IMF, friendly countries
Speaking about the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the planning minister said: "Pakistan has to seek support from the international lender and friendly countries because exports have not increased at the required pace."
The planning minister has urged the young people to introduce Pakistani products in the global markets. He said no country can achieve development unless business people are given respect.
Underscoring the importance of technology, Iqbal said those who use artificial intelligence (AI) will move ahead in the coming years and those who progress in this field will achieve success. He said there may be a future Bill Gates among the people of Pakistan.
Iqbal said the use of technology is bringing innovation to agriculture and industry.
He said the Silicon Valley chief executive officer has promised to work in Pakistan.
He added that under the second phase of CPEC, agreements have been made with Chinese companies to provide digital skills training to 300,000 Pakistanis every year.
Ahsan Iqbal said the meaning of education is no longer limited to literacy with a pen, but now includes digital literacy.
He said government schools in Punjab have not been upgraded and added that computers lying unused in some places belong in museums, adding that every school laboratory should have modern laptops.
