RAWALPINDI, July 15: President General Pervez Musharraf on Saturday said the growth target of 7 per cent set for the current fiscal year is achievable through yield intensification in the agriculture and higher productivity in the industrial sector.

Presiding over a meeting to review the overall economic scenario of the country the president emphasised the need for a comprehensive strategy during the current fiscal year to achieve higher targets in various sectors of the economy.

Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz also attended the meeting.

Gen Musharraf expressed his satisfaction on the overall state of the economy, despite the earthquake tragedy of Oct 8 last year and the shortage of water.

He said the growth target of seven per cent set for the current fiscal year is achievable through enhanced productivity and yield intensification by employing scientific methods in the agro sector.

The president called for adopting “corrective measures” wherever needed and targeted government intervention, where required on the basis of exception rather than a matter of routine.

He said that the new achievable targets for the industrial sector should be set, which registered a decline from 14.5 per cent to 9 per cent in the outgoing financial year and review of the factors which caused the decline in exports.

The meeting was informed that the export target during the last year was set at $17 billion and there was a shortfall of one billion dollars. However the exports registered an increase of 14 per cent as compared to the previous year.

The meeting was also informed that the new export targets for the current financial year would be achieved through higher growth in the industrial and agriculture sectors especially through value addition in textile.

Gen Musharraf expressed satisfaction over the Foreign Direct Investment which remained at the tune of $3.7 billion in the last financial year and hoped it will further increase as a result of the incentives the government is offering to foreign entrepreneurs.

The meeting noted that growth in all the sectors was vital to improve the lot of the common man. Pakistan with its growth rate was one of the fastest growing economies of the region and was bound to improve the quality of life of its people.

The meeting also vowed to sustain the high growth rate by increasing employment opportunities, lowering poverty and controlling inflationary trends and price hike.

Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz assured that the State Bank will extend support to any sector of the economy requiring intervention on short term basis and said it will provide temporary relief to the textile sector to enhance its competitiveness.

The meeting was attended by Minister for Commerce Hummayun Akhtar Khan and Minister for Industries and Special Initiatives Jehangir Khan Tareen, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Finance Dr Salman Shah, Ministers of State Hina Rabbani Khar and Umar Ayub Khan.—APP