Pakistan’s economy is back on track, says top US magazine
Pakistan has undergone a series of positive developments that merit recognition, claimed a recently published report in a top US magazine.
“These developments set the table for the sort of policies and investments needed to move the country on a path traveled by Indonesia or Brazil,” American-based magazine Forbes said, adding Islamabad had its first peaceful democratic transition in 2013 and the military, the civilian government, and civil society are broadly aligned on security issues.
Further, the report pointed out that the country’s economy has been growing for a number of years and it is back on track to complete an International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme from start to finish for the first time in its history.
“Pakistan’s growing middle class, which will expand from an estimated 40 million people today to 100 million people by 2050, represents a powerful engine for change, demanding both improved services and greater access to opportunities.”
The bi-weekly went on to claim that there is a huge potential in Pakistan’s energy sector and suggested that more capable people are needed to head the industries that will carry its future growth; run it’s national, provincial and city governments; and grow its universities.
“Pakistan’s abundant coal reserves and access to water flowing from the Himalayas mean it could be the ‘Saudi Arabia of Coal’ and the ‘Saudi Arabia of Hydropower.’ Pakistan also has significant wind, solar and geothermal potential,” it said.
Furthermore, the report indicated that it is in favour of the United States and Pakistan that the latter grows a lot faster than its neighbours. “If current trends continue, by 2050, India’s economy will be 40 times larger than Pakistan’s, and China’s economy 100 times larger. It is in both US and Pakistani interests to see that Pakistan grows a lot faster.”
It, however, warned the country is still not where it needs to be in terms of improving its educational sector. “The government has made some increases in spending on education, up from 1.9 percent of GNP in 2004 to 2.5 percent in 2014; Pakistan aspires to spend 4 percent of GNP on education so it is still not where it needs to be.”
This article originally appeared on the Forbes.
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