Technological advancement vital to achieve development targets: PM Kakar

• PM delivers keynote address to Trade Tech’s Trillion-Dollar Promise.
• "Equitable opportunities key to sustainable global development."
• Private sector should be encouraged to boost investment: Kakar.
  

DAVOS: Caretaker PM Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar on Wednesday stressed the need for modern time to utilise state-of-the-art technology which is vital to achieving the targets of fast development.

PM Kakar delivered a keynote address to a forum titled “Trade Tech’s Trillion-Dollar Promise” organised by the World Economic Forum (WEF) on the occasion of its 54th annual meeting in Davos today.

Stressing the need to ensure equitable opportunities for all to secure the technology, the premier said equitable opportunities were key to ensuring sustainable global development.

Keeping in view the development of technology, PM Kakar maintained that the digital economy would attain more importance in the days to come.

He said every region of the world should benefit from the development being made in the technology sector, the state news agency reported.

PM Kakar had high-level engagements with government and business leaders on the WEF sidelines.

As regards the issues of trade and business, he said the private sector should be encouraged to boost investment. Further, he added that the private sector should take the lead to help the government resolve the challenges of trade and business.

“The government does think in a different way and manner when it approaches towards challenges of trade and business, while the private entities and the business people have different opinion,” he said, adding the private entities should become the opinion maker and influencing and contributing more towards it.

Besides addressing the forum, PM Kakar had high-level engagements with government and business leaders on the WEF sidelines.

20th Pakistan Breakfast at Davos 2024

The premier said that Pakistan needed to be more competitive and attractive to facilitate the journey of industrialisation in the region.

The prime minister, addressing an event titled “20th Pakistan Breakfast at Davos 2024” held by Pathfinders Group on sidelines of the World Economic Forum, said a trading activity of around $336 trillion trade was happening in China, and GCC countries were also entering into the manufacturing industry.

He said China had acquired the transformation stage to relocate some of its industry and Pakistan could be one of those destinations. 

Similarly, the GCC countries were rich with capital but had geographical disadvantages with the options of either importing the manpower or taking their capital to countries with a conducive environment and cheap energy and labour, the state news agency reported.

He told the gathering of intellectuals, writers, and representatives of welfare organisations, that Pakistan was a unique place owing to its diversified culture, geography, and topography with the eight highest peaks, deserts of Thar and Balochistan, and the plains of Punjab.

Calling human resources the biggest asset of Pakistan, he said 60 percent of its 240 million population was under 30 years of age which meant whole of energy and required direction.

Referring to Pakistan’s ideal geographical situation, he said the whole of Central Asia was looking to have connectivity through Pakistan which had the highest population in the ECO region.

He said Pakistan remained a focal point of various avenues like connectivity besides being a part of the solution. He viewed that the investment and reforms in education, and digital financial inclusion would help Pakistan’s economy make a turnaround.

Meeting with Bill Gates

Premier Kakar met the co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Bill Gates in Davos on the WEF sidelines today.

He appreciated the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation's ongoing collaboration with Pakistan, especially its critical support across such sectors as public health, social initiatives, and financial inclusion, as well as during the COVID-19 pandemic and the floods of 2022, Radio Pakistan reported.

The prime minister and Bill Gates discussed a range of social support initiatives being undertaken in Pakistan, emphasizing the need to further consolidate the gains while scaling up efforts throughout the country.

He also outlined the government's collaborative efforts to combat poverty and malnutrition.

Meeting with Belgian counterpart

Pakistan and Belgium have reaffirmed their commitment to enhance high-level exchanges and bilateral cooperation in all areas of mutual interest including trade and investment, migration, mobility, and higher education.

An understanding to this effect came at a meeting between Caretaker PM Kakar and his Belgian counterpart Alexander De Croo on the WEF sidelines today, Radio Pakistan reported.

Both leaders expressed great satisfaction at the growing trade and economic ties and noted the completion of 25 years of establishment of diplomatic ties between both countries.