EAC's Goal To Spur Growth To 7% In Coming Years: Tarin

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 1st Jun, 2021 ) :Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue, Shaukat Tarin Tuesday said that ultimate goal of the consultative meetings of Economic Advisory Council (EAC) was to spur economic growth and take it to around 6 to 7 percent in a couple of years to make Pakistan a regionally competitive economy.

Chairing the second EAC meeting, the minister highlighted the objective of the EAC formation, which he said was the promotion of evidence-based policy formation and reforms, with the effective consultation and feedback from all important stakeholders.

The Finance Minister appreciated the hard work done by the sub-groups in formulating their proposals and directed to form liaison with key stakeholders for obtaining valuable feedback and crystallizing input.

He underscored that the detailed interaction which was taking place at this forum would prove an effective tool for policy making. He also affirmed his support and facilitation for all sub-groups on the occasion.

The Finance Minister especially acknowledged the contribution and ownership provided by the private sector for coming up with innovative ideas that can yield valuable results.

Earlier, Dr. Ishrat Hussain, Advisor to PM on Institutional Reforms and Austerity, introduced the sub-groups and briefly highlighted the most important challenges in respective sectors.

He said that increasing the share of direct taxes, energy cost rationalization, focusing on education and health, increasing investment to GDP ratio and reducing the cost of doing business were the top priorities of the government.

The EAC Groups gave presentations on the topics namely inclusive and sustainable growth, housing and construction sector, Industry and exports, agriculture, revenue and expenditure, financial sector and debt management, energy, social protection and domestic commerce.

Among others, the meeting was participated by Minister for Energy, Hammad Azhar Minister for Industries and Production, Khusru Bakhtiyar, Adviser to PM on Commerce, Raza Dawood, Special Assistant(SA) to PM on Finance and Revenue, Waqar Masood, SA PM on Ehsaas, Sania Nishtar, SA PM on National food Security, jamshad Iqbal Cheem, Chairman BOI, Chairman NPHDA, Chairman SECP, Governor SBP and leading representatives of the private sector which are the notified members of EAC.