ALTHOUGH it will take time for US-Iran negotiations to produce a durable peace deal, regional states have begun positioning themselves to benefit from the new economic opportunities that are likely to emerge. Anticipating greater regional integration, Türkiye, for example, has announced incentives to attract manufacturing investment.
Pakistan, too, is well placed to benefit. It has earned global goodwill for helping reduce regional tensions and supporting diplomatic efforts for peace. At home, the economy has reached an important inflection point. After restoring macroeconomic stability, the challenge now is to move towards investment-led, export-oriented and inclusive growth. The new budget seeks to balance fiscal discipline under the IMF programme with steps to ease business constraints and give relief to citizens — an aim that’s essential but not easy to fulfil.
Implementation of the broader reform agenda is a sine qua non for availing emerging opportunities: improving security, making energy prices competitive, privatising SOEs, broadening the tax base while reducing compliant taxpayers’ burden, expediting regulatory reforms, investing in quality human capital, replacing generalised subsidies with targeted support, digitising the economy, reducing government size and boosting public institutions. Success depends less on announcing reforms and more on implementing them through responsibilities, timelines and accountability.
