Govt keen on partnership with private sector: Iqbal

Federal Minister for Planning, Development, and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal on Thursday said the government was keen to explore partnership opportunities with the private sector to achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

“The way forward for Pakistan is to develop an economic value proposition that creates incentives for financial markets and private investors to participate in sustainable development through a strategic partnership, and innovative financial instruments supported by an agreeable policy framework,” the minister said.

He was addressing a conference on the Localisation of the VNR process here at the United Nations Headquarters.

The event was co-sponsored by Switzerland, Pakistan, Ghana and Montenegro.

The minister thanked the organisers and co-organisers for arranging the forum on “leaving no one behind” for the resilient recovery.

He said the increased uncertainty due to Covid-19 had put the world into a rare confluence of geopolitical realignment, supply disruptions, food and energy insecurity, and more volatile financial markets.

Pakistan’s second VNR Report records the progress for the national headline indicators, he said, adding that it had been painstakingly compiled and produced at a pivotal time.