LAHORE: Federal Minister of Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal on Thursday said that the government’s first priority is to increase the exports of the country.

He was addressing the 1st International Conference on Advances in Civil and Construction Engineering organised by the University of Management and Technology.

Ahsan said that we need political stability for economic progress, adding that the coalition government had to take tough decisions due to bad economic conditions in the country.

He said that maximum focus should be given to research in the universities because only through research our exports will improve which will play the role of a backbone in our country’s development. He highlighted the importance of stability for the success and development of any country and stated that we as a nation could not progress due to political instability.

Ahsan Iqbal advised that if we want to succeed, we have to work with collaboration because all developing countries have advanced because of teamwork and alliance. Development in the field of engineering has become the need of the hour because the best architects of the nation are playing a vital role in the growth of our country, he added.

In his concluding remarks, he said that all the development will be made possible only when strong links are established between academia and industry and when capable young researchers play an important role in the development of all sectors through innovation.

President UMT Ibrahim Hasan Murad, Rector UMT Dr Asif Raza, DG UMT Abid Sherwani, Prof Dr Mujahid Kamran, Dean School of Engineering Dr Usman Rasheed, Chairperson Department of Civil Engineering Dr Asif Naseer were present on the occasion.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022