Former caretaker finance minister Dr Shamshad Akhtar has said that infrastructure development is fundamental requirement for social development and economic growth.
Speaking at the two-day Pakistan Innovative Finance organized by Karandaaz Pakistan in partnership with the ADB Institute (ADBI), she said that Pakistan needs to focus on infrastructure development and it will have to increase percentage of spending on infrastructure for sustainable development. There is a need to increase tax-to-GDP ratio for creating more space on spending on infrastructure.
The two-day event aims to share knowledge and innovative ideas for promoting private sector-driven infrastructure financing in Pakistan, and identify ways to enhance financing access among Pakistan's SMEs. Some of the desired outcomes of the event include, but are not limited to, increased public-private sector dialogue on infrastructure and SME finance, creation of innovative financing solutions, and education on global best practices. The two days of the event are exploring innovative ways of leveraging private funds for investment in infrastructure and SMEs, case studies of credit enhancement structures for infrastructure projects and innovative financing for SMEs, and public-private partnership development within the sectors.
During the subsequent technical sessions and through the presentation, the speakers highlighted that increase in infrastructure development would have spillover impact with positive impact on growth. The increase in activities would contribute to increase the revenue growth.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2019
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