Finance Minister, Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar here on Thursday received Stephen J. Hadley, Chairman of United States Institute of Peace, a prominent US think tank.
The Minister shared with Mr. Hadley an overview of the national economy and stated that the country had been able to achieve macroeconomic stability through sustained structural reforms. He said that after the successful conclusion of the IMF programme, the government recently held consultations with the Fund under Article IV of its Articles of Association. He highlighted Government’s efforts for measures for economic reforms and said steps were now underway for consolidation of economic gains made by Pakistan thus far. He said now the focus was on inclusive and sustainable economic growth along with generating job opportunities. The Minister said Pakistan was well poised to attain 5% economic growth by end of this fiscal year, that would be a nine year high. He said ultimately 7% economic growth was the target to be achieved by 2018.
Finance Minister also informed the delegation about Pakistan’s efforts to promote regional connectivity. He said that CPEC, once operational, would benefit the whole region. He said that other regional connectivity projects like CASA and TAPI would also enhance regional cooperation and promote peace, prosperity and good neighborly relations among the countries of the region.
Chairman USIP acknowledged Pakistan’s significant economic achievements and added that these successes needed to be fully projected to the intentional audiences. Referring to Finance Minister’s interaction with senior leadership, media, think tanks during his past visits to the US, he said that it greatly helped build a positive perception about Pakistan. He emphasized the need for such interaction on a more frequent basis..
Stephen J. Hadley, the Chairman of USIP, has previously served as the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs for four years until 2009. In that capacity he was the principal White House Foreign policy advisor to the then President George W. Bush. Prior to that he served as the Deputy National Security Advisor.
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