2021 to be year of growth for Pakistan: PM Imran | The Express Tribune

Resolving that 2021 will be the year of growth for Pakistan, Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday stated that the country was moving in the right direction with the policies aimed at bringing people out of poverty through wealth creation.

Speaking at the launching ceremony of new vehicles being introduced in Pakistan, the premier said the government will incentivize the business community and the industrial sector that will lead to increased exports.

“Wealth creation through exports will be used for uplifting the living standard of the ordinary people in the country,” he underscored.

Imran said the government will focus on industrial development during the current year that will have a positive impact on economic growth. He said cement and textile sectors have recorded fast growth in the recent months.

The premier said that 2020 was a tough year for not only Pakistan but the whole world because of the coronavirus, but by the grace of Allah [God] Pakistan fared much better than most countries.

“We not only managed to protect our people but also saved them from hunger. We are moving forward to making Pakistan a welfare state,” he said.

He further stated that the government aims to introduce two major public welfare objectives during the current year— ensuring universal health coverage through Health Card Scheme and launching of an initiative under Ehsaas Program to make sure that no one goes to bed hungry.

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 relocation of the Chinese industries at Pakistan’s Special Economic Zones.

The prime minister said the government has dealt with the Covid-19 challenge in an effective manner. He said Pakistan is among the few countries, which have been appreciated by the WHO for better handling the pandemic. He said we followed the policy of saving lives as well as the livelihood of people.

While announcing his New Year’s resolution for 2021, PM Imran said that it was to complete two projects.

“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. Two, we will start our most ambitious nationwide project “Koi Bhuka Na Soyay”(No one should sleep hungry in Pak) under Ehsaas programme,” he added.

By the end of this year, these two projects would move Pakistan closer to its goal of making it a welfare state, the premier stressed.