ISLAMABAD: The Planning Commission is in the process of finalising its 12th five-year plan (2019-2023), the document for which will be presented for approval at the next meeting of the National Economic Council.

The commission’s steering committee met on Tuesday to discuss the broad socio-economic objectives of the next plan which includes sustained growth, climate change challenges, clean energy, agricultural productivity, infrastructure development and industrial revival.

The commission’s Deputy Chairman, Sartaj Aziz, while chairing the meeting, said that the commission was working to formulate the country’s 12th five-year plan in consultation with the provinces because several subjects had been devolved to the provinces following the 18th Constitution Amendment.

The plan would serve as an umbrella and would chart the progress of implementation once the socio-economic objectives were approved by the National Economic Council, said Mr Aziz.

He added that the commission would, in this plan, make efforts to incorporate the Sustainable Develop­ment Goals (SDGs) for 2030 that were approved by the United Nations in 2015. The 11th five-year plan (2013-18) will be complete by June this year, while the next plan will be launched on July 1. The 11th plan, which was issued at a time when Pakistan was facing multiple challenges on the economic, security and development fronts, encompassed operational details of the ‘Pakistan Vision 2025’, another document issued by the Planning Commission.

Published in Dawn, January 3rd, 2018