Pakistan's inclusive development depends on the effective application of the law and the respect it receives through behavioural changes.

According to Romina Khurshid Alam, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) and convener of the parliamentary task force on the SDGs, the implementation of laws and behavioural changes, which are imperative to reinstate respect for law, social responsibility, and social norms, will ensure that the development is inclusive and reaches under-developed and underprivileged communities.  She was speaking at a roundtable discussion on “Inclusive economic growth: An imperative for sustainable economic development”.

According to the SAPM, bureaucratic procedures should be streamlined through the use of a single point of contact to ensure that development agendas are delivered promptly and effectively.

She emphasized that developed nations, who made up a significant portion of the world's carbon emissions, needed to be named and held accountable for the costs of their actions on developing nations.

She continued, "Climate finance is not aid; rather, it is a legitimate right of countries that are vulnerable to climate change and responsibility of high carbon emitting countries.

A technical advisor for the World Bank Ermeena Malik recommended developing comprehensive yet challenging interventions to strengthen government-owned businesses and regulatory agencies, particularly in the energy sector.

Ayesha Ilyas, SDPI's coordinator of advocacy and outreach, drew attention to the rising number of desperate and hopeless flood victims, which would raise gender violence and crime rates if timely aid was not provided.

Dr. Vaqar Ahmed, joint executive director of the SDPI, urged attaining sustainable economic growth to address current issues.

He argued that the government urgently needed to adopt a solution-oriented strategy and forward-looking planning, and it should use the current floods as an opportunity to reform social protection, which must be supported by carefully considered targeted economic policies. Instead of leaving the next generation with debt, he said, the government should choose a solution-oriented strategy.

He added that Pakistan needs to diversify foreign investments from different countries because frequent changes in tax, tariff, and economic policy will exert long-term negative effects and discourage foreign direct investments.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan-WealthPk