Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal has called for a globally competitive export-driven economy to overcome recurring balance-of-payments crises and strengthen economic sovereignty. He was inaugurating the 39th International Conference and Annual General Meeting of the Pakistan Society of Development Economists (PSDE) at the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE) on Wednesday.
The conference theme is 'Mission $100 billion: the national race for sustainable export-led prosperity.' The minister, who is also Chancellor of PIDE, said sustained prosperity requires expanding capacity to earn foreign exchange. 'A nation's economic sovereignty rests on its ability to pay its way in the world,' he said, highlighting Pakistan's widening export gap with successful Asian economies.
Under URAAN Pakistan, he emphasised competitive clusters, complete value chains and integration into global supply networks. He stressed that export success requires policy continuity beyond political transitions and welcomed research that challenges government assumptions.
Guest of Honour Yuan Jianmin, Senior Advisor to the Xinjiang Government, China, highlighted opportunities to deepen Pakistan-China cooperation through China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) 2.0. He proposed expanding trade in agricultural and food products, establishing a green channel at Khunjerab for fresh produce, widening RMB use in cross-border payments, and advancing cooperation in artificial intelligence, IT outsourcing and computing infrastructure.
Delivering his presidential address, PIDE Vice-Chancellor Dr Nadeem Javaid argued that Pakistan's export weakness reflects an incentive structure that made competing internationally less attractive than serving protected domestic markets. He described a self-reinforcing export trap where a narrow export base intensifies foreign-exchange pressures which constrain investment needed for competitiveness.