ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan has vowed that 2021 will be a year of economic growth for the country, highlighting that essential industries are increasing output, and underscoring the need for wealth generation through exports.
Addressing an event in Islamabad, the prime minister said that the construction industry was already on its way up, which was evident from rising cement sales in the country.
“When cement sales are increasing it is a clear sign that construction activity is on the rise,” he said.
Imran said that the textile industry was “producing at capacity for the first time in many years” which he said had given rise to a shortage of labour in the sector.
“Wealth creation through exports will be used for uplifting the living standard of the ordinary people in the country,” he stressed.
“Our biggest problem is that we did not try to increase our exports in the past. Why do we have to go to the International Monetary Fund? Because our exports fall and our imports rise,” the premier said on the occasion. “We have to squeeze our economy which makes life difficult for the common man.”
During the speech, he also lauded the positive effect of China’s help in helping Pakistan become industrialised.
“China is the country we can learn the most from because their development model suits us the best. Pakistan can learn the most from the way and the speed with which China has developed in the past 35 years,” he said.
Describing the Chinese model of development as the most suitable model for Pakistan, Imran said Pakistan desires to learn from China in industrial development and agriculture. He said the government will make efforts for the relocation of the Chinese industries at Pakistan’s Special Economic Zones.
“2020 was a tough year for us & for people across the world bec of Covid19. But by the grace of God we fared far better than most. We not only managed to protect our ppl but also saved them from hunger. We are moving forward to making Pakistan a Welfare State,” the premier said later on Twitter.
PM Imran pointed out that Pakistan had handled the coronavirus well, and that it was one of the few countries appreciated by the World Health Organisation (WHO) for its efforts in curbing the pandemic. He said that the government followed the policy of saving lives as well as the livelihood of people.
The premier said that he had two resolutions for the new year; one of which was to provide universal healthcare to all citizens.
“One, universal health coverage to all our citizens. It has begun in KP and will soon in Punjab and GB. We hope other provinces will replicate this programme,” he said.
The second resolution was the provision of food to the imporveshed.
“Two, we will start our most ambitious nationwide project “Koi Bhuka Na Soyay”(No one should sleep hungry in Pak) under Ehsaas programme,” he said.
“We hope other provinces will replicate this prog. Two, we will start our most ambitious nationwide project “Koi Bhuka Na Soyay”(No one should sleep hungry in Pak)under Ehsaas prog. By the end of the yr these 2 projects will move us closer to our goal of making Pak a welfare state,” he said on the microblogging site.
