Hafeez identifies impediments to growth

Advisor to the Prime Minister on Finance and Revenue, Dr. Abdul Hafeez Shaikh Saturday said healthy export growth is essential for a long-term economic development.

Addressing the Institute of Business Administration (IBA) annual convocation at IBA main campus, Hafeez said that unfortunately, in the past exports sector was completely neglected with the result the export growth remained zero during the last 10 years.

Pakistani exporters are even unsuccessful to properly market their products in the international market. Therefore, there is need for adopting aggressive marketing strategy and explore new markets to earn precious foreign exchange for the country, he added.

He said Pakistan's economy is facing three key challenges and we cannot achieve a steady growth without addressing these challenges. The challenges are: human development; reaching out to the world markets and proper policy making on the government side.

"We have learned from the world that no country can develop without human development. The government should focus on policy making and let the people facilitate in their business," he said.

The advisor said that despite the fact Pakistan is full of natural resources, it is not known why the country has not achieved a strong economic growth as yet and facing multiple economic challenges.

Hafeez appreciated the efforts of the IBA and asked the students to value the virtues institute has empowered them with. He also urged the graduates to strive for excellence and make the country stronger.

Provincial Minister for Food and Parliamentary Affairs, Nisar Ahmed Khuhro said that the skills, which the graduates have learnt at IBA, will help them with the intricacies of life and being graduates of the IBA makes them stand out from the rest and also endows them with a responsibility to perform well.

"With a legacy of more than six decades, IBA has proven to be a hub of nurturing talents from which not only Pakistan but the whole world has benefitted," he added. This esteemed institution has produced the best leaders and professionals that not only lead but inspire, Khuhro said.

IBA Executive Director Dr. Farrukh Iqbal congratulated the graduating students and their families and announced that 80 percent of the institute's current graduating batch has attained employment of their choice within three months of graduation.

He also announced that the first cohort of BS Economics and MS Journalism are graduating and will enter the job market. Furthermore, he said that IBA is the first institute to offer a specialized degree in journalism.

Co-Founder, The Citizens Foundation (TCF) Mushtaq Chhapra applauded IBA's initiative to start the Responsible Citizen Initiative (RCI) or social internship. He also highlighted the diversity at IBA and mentioned that many graduates of TCF have obtained education from IBA through its financial assistance programme.

Some 926 degrees were conferred to graduates at the IBA annual convocation 2019. The graduating batch included 673 undergraduate students from six programs, 252 postgraduate students from seven programs and one PhD scholar.

The convocation ceremony featured the position holders in various degree programs who were awarded cash prizes, medals, shields and certificates of merit. Graduating students excelling in the field of sports were also recognized. Performance awards were given to staff and faculty members including the best teacher and best researcher awards.