LAHORE: Renowned political economist Dr Shahid Javed Burki on Thursday emphasized upon enhancing ratio of domestic savings, tax collection and investments in SME sector for sustainable future development of Pakistan.

It was stated by him at a seminar jointly organised by the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (SMEDA) and the Burki Institute of Public Policy (BIPP) on Thursday at SMEDA Head Office on “SME Sector Opportunities and Challenges in Pakistan.

Farhan Aziz Khawja, CEO SMEDA delivered address of welcome on the occasion. The seminar was also addressed by other economists including Shahid Najam and Babar Yaqoob Fateh Muhammad.

Secretary Industries, MD PSIC, Secretary P&D, Secretary Finance, Federal Ombudsman and a number of the government and business community representatives also attended the seminar online through internet.

Dr Shahid Javaid Burki, who was key speaker of the seminar, advised to follow the Chinese methodology of economic development for Pakistan. He told that when he made the first visit of China in 1965 it was a far less developed country than Pakistan. But, now it has become the world’s 2nd largest economy, he said and informed that China had made such quantum leap in development by restricting its SMEs, manpower and technology as per requirements of the global markets.

He said, “the rich opportunities available for SME development in Pakistan also need to be exploited in line with the global standards. He termed it a great challenge for SMEDA and the government of Pakistan in the current macro-economic situation of Pakistan, but without coming up with the world markets, SMEs cannot play its due role in economic development of Pakistan. He pointed out that huge population of Youth and the Agriculture sector were the major strengths of Pakistan, which can play pivotal role in SMEs growth. The youth should be provided with the market oriented education and training, whereas the agriculture produces should be converted into value-added products in accordance with international standards of processing and packaging that will enable us to tap a number of the unexplored global markets for Pakistan’s exports.

Dr Burki reiterated that no country can maintain sustainable economic development without enhancing domestic savings and tax rations, for which we need to revamp our fiscal system as well as support mechanism of SME growth.

Shahid Najam, Babar Yaqoob Fateh Muhammad and the other speakers also highlighted the need of SME development by overcoming the existing challenges through conducive policy framework.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023