Pakistan preparing to become OGP Forum member: Dar

Finance Minister Ishaq Dar on Wednesday said after becoming a member of Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Pakistan was preparing to become a member of Open Government Partnership (OGP) Forum in order to ensure financial discipline, accountability and transparency. The OGP Forum, he said, was dedicated to promote transparency, good governance and fighting against corruption.

The minister was addressing the seminar-cum-launching ceremony of Companies Ordinance 2016 here at the head office of the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP).

Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Revenue Haroon Akhtar Khan, Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) Chairman Nisar Muhammad Khan, SECP Chairman Zafarul Haq Hijazi and business community attended the event.

Ishaq Dar said Pakistan had recently become a signatory of the OECD Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters aimed at curbing growing tax evasion.

The convention, he said, would facilitate international cooperation on national tax laws and provide administrative cooperation among member countries to combat tax evasion.

The minister said due to prudent economic policies taken by the government during the last three years the economy had been stabilized and the country was now forwarding on the path of sustainable economic growth. Pakistan, he said, was rising as a sovereign economic power and would become the 18th biggest economy by 2030.

The country needed to achieve target of $30 billion foreign exchange reserves and growth rate of 7 per cent for poverty alleviation and provide employment opportunities to the people, he added.

The minister said the economic growth target for the current financial year was 5.5 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and the government would hopefully achieve that target. He said due to the efforts of the government’s economic team the FBR had achieved 60pc growth in revenues during the last three years. Ishaq Dar said international organizations, including Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), had also appreciated the government’s economic policies.

He called upon all the political parties to work together for the country’s economic prosperity.

Lauding the efforts and contribution of SECP team in formulation of Companies Ordinance 2016, he urged them to continue playing their vital role in the implementation of law to ensure transparency and good governance in the country.

The law, he said, had been formulated in consultation with all the stakeholders. Ishaq Dar said the corporate sector was a driving engine for the economic development.

The minister said due to proper property evaluation, the government’s revenue would further increase to five times for the benefit of the country.

Haroon Akhtar, in his remarks, appreciated the SECP for Companies Ordinance 2016, saying it would enhance the confidence of investors in Pakistan.

Speaking on the occasion, the SECP chairman thanked the Finance minister for his full support in the formulation of the Companies Ordinance 2016.