KARACHI: Mir Hasil Khan Bizenjo, federal minister for ports and shipping, has said that the country needs to achieve economic self-sufficiency for sustainable growth.

“For example, Pakistan should have built the Gwadar Port through its own resources without any external assistance,” said Bizenjo, while speaking at the 7th Annual Sustainable Shipping, Logistic & Supply Chain Conference, organised by the Professional Network at a local hotel on Thursday.

The minister stressed the need for the country to become self-sufficient in all economic fields.

“It is very important to reduce our dependency upon foreign-funded programmes,” Bizenjo said.

He also emphasised on increasing education budget to improve social and economic conditions of the country.

“The developed and developing nations were spending around 30 percent of

their GDP on education, while Pakistan was only spending three percent annually on this important sector,” he added.

Bizenjo said that there was no conflict between the government and the military.

“Both organs of the state are on the same page on important national issues.”

The minister said former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s Islamabad to Lahore rally

was not targeted against anybody. “He [Nawaz Sharif] is just going back home,” he said.

On the occasion, experts raised concern over the government’s over-incentivising Chinese investors and under-incentivising the locals.

It was also pointed out that Chinese imports coming into Pakistan have touched an alarming $21 billion, but the exports to the friendly country were falling sharply, further widening the trade deficit between the two countries.

The speakers also urged the government to revisit Pak-China free trade agreement to rationalise trade volume between the two countries.