Govt pins high hopes on 12th Five Year Plan

ISLAMABAD: The upcoming 12th Five Year plan would make all-out efforts towards ensuring accelerated progress by strategically blending inclusive growth with green development down the line, a minister said on Tuesday.

"The 12th Five Year Plan would serve as an umbrella and will coordinate the progress of implementation once the socioeconomic objectives have been approved by National Economic Council (NEC)” Sartaj Aziz, deputy chairman Planning Commission, said at the third meeting of steering committee for the preparation of the plan.

"The plan will also incorporate the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for 2030 as approved by a United Nations summit in 2015."

Aziz said that present government has given shared vision that aims at ensuring the country’s success in achieving the SDGs of bringing the poverty and hunger down to zero along with providing everyone with universal access to health services, education, modern energy services, clean water, and sanitation by 2030.

The deputy chairman, whose portfolio is equivalent to a federal minister, added the Planning Commission is working on the 12th Five Year Plan in consultations with the provinces as after 18th amendment of the Constitution various subjects have been devolved to the provinces.

The meeting also discussed the broad socioeconomic objectives of the 12th Five Year Plan including sustained growth, climate change challenges, clean energy, agricultural productivity, infrastructure development and industrial revival. The draft document would be presented before the upcoming meeting of the NEC.