Islamabad (Web Desk): Prime Minister Imran Khan has proposed a five-point roadmap to materialise the vision of Developing-8 (D-8) countries.
Addressing the 10th D-8 virtual summit in Dhaka on Thursday, the premier invited the D-8 leaders to consider his five-point plan and join advocacy for COVID-19 related relief measures to deal with the unique economic and financial challenges faced by developing countries as a result of the pandemic.
Imran Khan proposed taking concrete actions to achieve target of expanding inter-D-8 trade from currently around $ 100 billion to $ 500 billion by 2030, the Radio Pakistan reported.
“It should include measures like simplification of border procedures, enhancing institutional linkages and operationalizing new initiatives,” he added.
PM Khan said Pakistan welcomes ideas like D-8 Payment Card which would enable transactions in local currencies.
He urged the D-8 to develop a “Youth Engagement Strategy” focused on promoting cultural, educational, and scientific and business exchanges.
“Linkages should be established between educational institutions like scholarships, skill development, trainings, fellowships, joint research and exchange program for the youth particularly in the field of science, technology, and innovation,” the PM said.
Imran Khan emphasized on promoting knowledge-based economy, increase expenditure for research and development and focus on rapid digitization.
He said technological development is a gateway to economic prosperity, particularly in the post pandemic period when reliance of technology would be greater than ever in the human history.
The prime minister stressed the need to make D-8 more relevant to the lives of its citizens by promoting food security, enhancing cooperation in health, holding joint sports events and helping each other during natural disasters.
“We need high-level of commitment and mobilisation of financial resources by both developed and developing economies to achieve these goals,” he said, adding that partnerships between governments, international financial institutions, businesses and civil society are essential to leverage technology, innovation and skills to enable every young person to have all opportunities to realise their full potential.
Imran Khan expressed the confidence that our collective wisdom and commitment will bring a new vigour to D-8.