_: President Zardari said that by embracing the visions of the great leaders Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, and Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto, “we can effectively tackle challenges and foster an atmosphere of mutual respect and political reconciliation”.
The president emphasised that in order to align the country with the 21st Century requirements, it was imperative to move forward on reforms with good governance for the provision of optimal social entitlements to the citizens.
He said besides working on economic reforms, spurring jobs, reducing inflation and expanding the tax net, the Federal Government should also promote positive working relationships and effective coordination, within the constitutional framework, with the provinces.
“This is absolutely essential for promoting an inclusive national development agenda and rolling out policies that execute tangible action on the ground.”
President Zardari stressed the government to intensify its efforts for attracting
foreign direct investment, implementing comprehensive ease-of-doing-business reforms and simplifying the existing regulations to provide an enabling environment to both foreign and domestic investors.
At the same time, he also emphasised to diversify exports, enhance the competitiveness of domestic products in global markets, introduce value addition, and venture into new international markets. Similarly, the huge untapped potential in the agriculture, marine life, information technology and textile sectors should also be exploited to earn foreign exchange, he added.
Commending the establishment of the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC), he said it was a step forward in the right direction as it was aimed at attracting and facilitating investments in key sectors.
As regards climate change impacts, the president said Pakistan had been serially devastated by different impacts of climate change, especially in the shape of catastrophic floods in 2022. “We urgently need to invest in climate-friendly
and climate-resilient infrastructure to mitigate the rapidly compounding risks of climate change.”
Speaking about the importance of the provision of primary and secondary education, President Zardari pointed out that as a massive number of children were out of school, all the provincial governments should focus their energy on transformative reforms in the education sector.
He also highlighted the urgent need of rebuilding and scaled-up expansion in the health sector, saying that regular investments in the primary and secondary health infrastructure, as well as human resources, were needed to ensure that every citizen had access to quality healthcare services and that no one lacked medical care.
He said a large number of population was slipping to extreme poverty due to a combination of factors including climate impacts and sheer cost-of-living pressures.
“It is our responsibility to ensure that they move out of extreme vulnerability, with the ability to access opportunities for jobs, and resources to
reinvest in farms, livestock and small businesses.”
The president viewed that the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) had been providing a lifeline to millions of vulnerable women across the country, offering them financial assistance and social protection, while giving many women the incentives and seed capital to start up small businesses.
The number of beneficiaries of the poverty alleviation programme had risen to over 9 million, he added.
The president expressed the hope that the new government would actively work to reduce social and economic fragility while aggressively promoting girls’ education and health, including programmes to reduce maternal mortality and enhance mother and child nutrition.