00:00 Headlines, you know, you will be informed by the Minister of Defense, SIF, the meeting of the APECS Committee is over. The Chief of Army and the entire delegation of the Defense Minister attended the meeting.
00:11 Our representatives are also present with us. Azhar Farooq. Yes, Azhar.
00:16 This was an important meeting of the APEC Committee on the sale of the country's economic, economic, business, economic and investment. The Chief of Army, the Minister of Defense and the entire delegation of the Defense Minister attended this meeting.
00:29 The meeting was held in line with the guidelines for local and foreign investment. The meeting was also briefed on the comprehensive plan to facilitate and accelerate the regulation of the meeting.
00:47 The meeting also discussed the short-term and long-term plans for the implementation of economic development under the Special Investment Opportunity Council. The Prime Minister also approved the practical measures in this regard and instructed that the implementation of these measures be made sure within a certain period of time.
01:04 The Prime Minister also instructed the ministers to take steps to ensure the implementation of these measures. The Prime Minister also said that despite the short-term supervision of the government, we must ensure the implementation of economic development. He said that the implementation of these measures will make it easier for the government to implement economic development in the future.
01:25 Azhar Parooq, you were reporting on this important issue. We have with us the expert economist, Mr. Khakha Najeeb and Mr. Abid Sulery. Thank you both for your time. Mr. Khakha, I will be on your side.
01:37 The SIFC APEC Committee meeting today discussed three important issues. We saw that the implementation of the three important steps in the direction of investment has been a road map for economic development. How important are these three steps? How fruitful will they be? How soon will they have an impact?
01:58 I have been saying this for a long time that if you want to change one figure of Pakistan, the growth of Pakistan is the investment to GDP ratio. Pakistan's investment to GDP ratio is 13.6% in FY23. If you compare it with the surrounding countries, East Asia and China, it is half.
02:21 So, Pakistan must work on FDI, domestic investment and public sector investment. To work on all three, the most important thing is to bypass the regulatory hurdles, the state apparatus of Pakistan, which is clogged, and move forward.
02:40 But this is important in the short run because I was reading today in Wall Street Journal that the world's largest investments are being made in the Middle East by sovereign wealth funds.
02:56 I will tell the people who understand the economy of the whole of Pakistan, the policy makers, to read the article. They will realize how important it is that we correct ourselves today so that the billions of dollars of investment in the world of sovereign wealth funds, I consider the SIFC to be a part, that if they also tap this FDI, in which I have written a lot on my two subjects, finance and agriculture.
03:24 I have written articles on the leading markets of Pakistan, so that we go this way and bring FDI in it. FDI has a definite scope in Pakistan.
03:35 But when you talk about domestic investment, we also have to remember that there are 52 lakh small and medium enterprises.
03:42 Pakistan has a very large, 95% small agriculturist. We have to help them too. SIFC is also being used locally, in which the local agriculture is to support it.
03:55 In that, the Pakistan's investment in corporate farming and cooperative farming, to move it forward, seed, AI technology, mechanization, financing, this has to be taken forward.
04:09 Agriculture is Pakistan's low-hanging fruit. These are the two things that can be defining in the next two to three years of Pakistan to change investment.
04:21 We have invested in a very large textile, in which we have given loans of turf. But Pakistan's real base is agriculture, on which the whole industry runs.
04:32 Now the time has come that we were on 5 million bales, God willing, we will go on 12.5 million bales of cotton this year.
04:39 But next year we will start thinking about 14 and then 16 million bales. Correct the cropping patterns of Pakistan's agriculture.
04:47 And I tell you one more thing that now it is being envisaged that Pakistan has 9 million hectares at the moment, which Pakistan can cultivate new.
04:57 Pakistan's domestic people should also benefit from it. Land leveling should be done. Investment will increase by doing all this.
05:08 And Pakistan, I understand that when I see the numbers at the moment, they are like an existential challenge for Pakistan.
05:16 But this is also the way out of them. And without bringing investment and without exciting domestic and foreign investors, you cannot increase Pakistan's efficiency.
05:29 In the end, I will say that include privatization in this agenda. Discos, PIA are not working with us. Generation companies are not working with us.
05:39 Minhasul Qaum, please agree that this reform is necessary for us. We cannot run these industries by restructuring.
05:50 And that pricing is not a reform. Privatization is a reform. Involving private management is a reform.
05:59 Correcting the tariff structure of Pakistan is a reform. So we have to move in this direction.
06:04 I am really hoping that we take these things very seriously. We bring professionals to every institution.
06:10 And the way I have put a road map in front of you, if we take this road map of Pakistan in three years, then only will these things start to be handled.
06:20 Right. Mr. Abid Sikheri is also with us. Mr. Khakhan will also talk to him.
06:25 The SIFC's EPICS Committee meeting was held under the leadership of the Minister of Finance. In this meeting, the road map for economic development was laid out. How significant is this?
06:37 Look, the bottom line of this meeting for me is the statement of the Minister of Finance that no matter how long it takes, we will have to work for the welfare of the economy until the last minute.
06:52 And this is the spirit of the SIFC. And this is what we have to follow right now.
06:59 If you want to save the economy, you have to stay in the IMF program and save it.
07:07 And after the election, any party will come to power. So he will have to do the same thing that he will have to take the IMF program for the next three years and implement it.
07:16 So how will we manage the IMF program and its aftershocks?
07:22 There was a discussion on the Smuggling side of the SIFC forum today about how to end it.
07:31 The government has already asked the Planning Commission to make the five-year plan. There was a discussion on this issue.
07:41 And how can we control the overall situation of inflation? Because right now, we need it for the welfare of the people of Pakistan and Pakistan.
07:52 And the question of investment, the important thing on that is that the countries we have to bring investment from, we are talking about Saudi Arabia, China, the UAE, Qatar.
08:04 These are the countries that want to deal with a strong, focal organization.
08:12 So that you can tell them what kind of facilitation they can get, how single window operation can be made profitable to make their investment.
08:24 Thank you very much Dr. Khakha, Mr. Najeeb and Mr. Abis Uleri for talking to ARY News.
