Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives, Ahsan Iqbal, chaired a high-level meeting on the Export Acceleration, Production, Quality, Innovation and Brand Mission, the first of the eleven National Economic Missions under URAAN Pakistan , aimed at translating Pakistan’s long-term development goals into concrete and time-bound action approved by the NEC to operationalized the Uraan Pakistan framework.
Ahsan Iqbal said that the eleven National Economic Missions approved by the National Economic Council (NEC) aim to transform Pakistan into a one-trillion-dollar economy by 2035 , but achieving this target requires fundamental transformation rather than continuation of the status quo.
“We cannot move forward at the pace of a tortoise; we have to move at the speed of lightening and take a mission approach to achieve target,” he said, stressing that Pakistan must move from traditional economic management towards an export driven revenue generating economy.
Ahsan Iqbal emphasized that boosting exports is not merely an economic target but a matter of national and economic sovereignty, stressing that Pakistan cannot achieve sustained 6 percent GDP growth, realize its ambition of becoming a one-trillion-dollar economy, or meet its external financing obligations without a decisive shift towards export-led growth.
The Minister highlighted the significant potential for improving Pakistan’s external position through coordinated growth in exports, import substitution and remittances. He said that a 10 percent increase in exports, a reduction in imports and a 10 percent increase in remittances could collectively generate substantial additional resources for the economy and reduce dependence on external borrowing.
He said Pakistan had relied for too long on external borrowing and multilateral financing to meet its external sector requirements and that this pattern must be changed by strengthening the country’s productive and export capacity. Citing the contrasting export trajectories of Pakistan and Vietnam, he said Pakistan must urgently identify and unlock its untapped export potential.
Ahsan Iqbal emphasized that the Ministry of Planning would not encroach upon the mandates of line ministries, but would serve as a coordinating and analytical platform to support them. Referring to the experience of CPEC, he said the Ministry would facilitate coordination while the respective ministries would retain full responsibility for execution and delivery.
Ahsan Iqbal called for a shift towards cluster-based industrial development, saying that established industrial centres such as Wazirabad’s cutlery industry, Gujrat’s fan manufacturing and Chiniot and Gujranwala’s furniture sector possess significant expertise and export potential but require stronger value chains, compliance standards, product development and integration with global supply chains.
The Minister stressed that the objective of the mission series was to develop clear, shared and time-bound roadmaps against Pakistan’s national economic targets and commitments, including those agreed with international partners.
He directed that these industrial clusters be assessed to identify gaps in value addition, quality, branding and international market access. He also called for a *district-based export development strategy , under which each district would identify its competitive products and develop an export portfolio based on local potential, including handicrafts, food products and manufactured goods.
The Minister said Pakistan must move beyond producing traditional products for limited markets and instead respond to changing international demand through innovation, quality improvement, branding and market intelligence. He emphasized that the country has considerable untapped export opportunities at the local level that can be transformed into globally competitive products.
Ahsan Iqbal d irected all participating ministries and stakeholders to work closely with the Ministry of Planning to develop a comprehensive implementation plan aimed at achieving and surpassing Pakistan’s target of $100 billion in exports by 2035.
The meeting was attended by representatives of the Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Industries and Production, Ministry of National Food Security and Research, and other relevant stakeholders.
