Planning minister pitches URAAN vision to Pakistani-American business leaders

Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal on Tuesday urged Pakistani-American investors, executives and technology leaders to become long-term partners in Pakistan's economic transformation, saying the country's recent macroeconomic recovery has created an opportunity to accelerate investment and innovation.

Speaking to a delegation of 20 Pakistani-American entrepreneurs, technologists and financiers, including more than one-third who are former Fortune 500 executives, Iqbal invited members of the diaspora to contribute capital, business networks and technical expertise to support the government's development agenda, according to an official statement.

The minister used the engagement to outline the government's URAAN-Pakistan strategy, which aims to expand Pakistan into a $1 trillion economy by 2035 and $3 trillion by 2047. He said the framework is centred on the 5Es—Exports, E-Pakistan, Environment and Climate Change, Energy and Infrastructure, and Equity and Empowerment—while identifying information technology, agriculture, manufacturing, tourism, mining and minerals, the blue economy, skilled manpower and creative industries as the country's key export growth sectors.

Iqbal said Pakistan has reached a pivotal stage where improvements in national security, diplomatic engagement and macroeconomic stability should now translate into sustained economic expansion. He said the government's reform programme under Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had helped curb inflation, lower policy interest rates and restore international confidence in the economy, describing Pakistan as one of the world's notable economic turnaround stories.

He also argued that Pakistan's role in promoting regional peace has strengthened investor confidence and opened fresh avenues for trade and international business, encouraging overseas Pakistanis to make the country a regular part of their investment portfolios.

According to the statement, many members of the delegation already have investment and philanthropic interests in Pakistan, with the meeting intended to build those existing links into a more structured partnership supporting the URAAN-Pakistan agenda.

The minister reaffirmed the government's commitment to fostering a business-friendly environment and said overseas Pakistanis would play an important role in helping the country evolve into a globally competitive, knowledge-based economy.

Beyond investment, Iqbal highlighted plans to strengthen academic and research collaboration with the Pakistani-American community through partnerships involving the University of Illinois Chicago, the Illinois Institute of Technology, the University of Chicago, and the wider US-Pakistan Knowledge Corridor. He added that the government is also engaging overseas experts to support Pakistan's artificial intelligence readiness and broader technological transformation.