Import substitution should be part of industrial policy: Dagha

Sindh’s Caretaker Minister for Finance, Revenue, and Planning and Development Mohammad Younus Dagha has said that the State Bank of Pakistan should fix the exchange rate of the Pakistani rupee from time to time according to the internationally accepted exchange rate for the local currency.

Speaking at a conference in Islamabad organised by the World Bank and PIDE, the provincial minister elaborated that the country does not have a perfect market for foreign exchange for effective pricing through competitive market rates.

Dagha also said at the conference that effective import substitution should be an integral part of the country’s industrial policy based on achieving growth-based imports. He further said small and medium enterprises (SMEs) must be focused on to achieve high growth and that strategy should focus on skilled youth, high productivity and value addition to agriculture, mining and mineral sectors.

He maintained that development cannot be achieved by ignoring small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in economic policies.

The event was attended by a large number of stakeholders representing various sectors.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 26^th, 2023.