ISLAMABAD:Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) and Convener Parliamentary Task force on SDGs, Romina Khurshid Alam on Monday urged for strengthening implementation of laws along with behavioural changes to reinstate respect for law, social responsibility and social norms to ensure that development was inclusive and reaches under-developed and underprivileged communities.
Speaking at a roundtable discussion on ‘Inclusive economic growth: An imperative for sustainable economic development’ by Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI), she said that bureaucratic operations must be simplified through one window operations so that the development agendas are delivered timely and efficiently.
She stressed that developed countries which were major contributors of global carbon emissions must be called out and held responsible for their actions that developing countries were paying for. “Climate finance is not aid rather legitimate right of climate vulnerable countries and responsibility of high carbon emitting countries.”
Joint Executive Director SDPI, Dr Vaqar Ahmed called for achieving sustainable economic development to overcome contemporary challenges. He said there is a dire need that the government opts for solution-oriented approach, forward-looking planning, and looking at the current floods as an opportunity to reset social protection backed by well thought out targeted economic policies rather than burdening future generation with loans. Frequent changes in tax, tariffs and reversals of economic policies have long term negative implications and discourage foreign direct investments. Pakistan needs to diversify foreign investments from multiple countries.
Head Sustainability and Resilience Programme, Dr Shafqat Munir Ahmad said that economic inclusion of vulnerable and marginalised segments was critical to ensure that growth does not exacerbate existing inequalities in society. It was imperative for economists and policy makers to identify the issues of socio-economic inclusivity and rectify them to ensure sustainable economic development that benefits and empowers all strata of society. He called for strengthening state-citizens cordial relations.
Dr Sajid Amin, Deputy Executive Director SDPI, Pakistan is currently confronting 4 major challenges preventing it from achieving sustainable and inclusive economic development. These include balance of payment crisis, high and unsustainable economic growth, recurrent climate disasters and political and economic uncertainty and instability. He said that it is crucial to shift focus of economic policies to SMEs and entrepreneurship which can create employment resulting in inclusive economic growth.
Director, Institute of Strategic Studies, Dr. Neelum Nigar stressed taking a gender perspective in socio-economic policies as women are at the centre of economic crisis and climate disasters. Despite being almost half of population, there is low representation of women at high-ranking positions of power which reflects in policies that are devised without envisioning through gender lens.