Pakistan's GDP Could Reach $1Tln By 2030 Given Maritime Economy Development - Politician

Pakistan's GDP Could Reach $1Tln by 2030 Given Maritime Economy Development - Politician

Pakistan's GDP can grow up to $1 trillion by the end of the 2020s, provided proper governance of the country's maritime resources and sea infrastructure, Sardar Masood Khan, the president of Pakistan's Azad Jammu and Kashmir region, said on Saturday

KARACHI (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 13th February, 2021) Pakistan's GDP can grow up to $1 trillion by the end of the 2020s, provided proper governance of the country's maritime resources and sea infrastructure, Sardar Masood Khan, the president of Pakistan's Azad Jammu and Kashmir region, said on Saturday.

Khan made the statement during an international sea conference on the sidelines of the Pakistani-hosted AMAN-2021 multinational maritime exercise.

"We have the mindset of the landlocked economy and landlocked country despite of having this abundant maritime fortune in our front yard which connects us with the Indian Ocean region and other seas, oceans and nations. If we integrate our land-based economy with blue economy we can have a 1 trillion Dollar GDP before the end of this decade," Khan said.

According to the official, Pakistani waters contain abundant hydrocarbon reserves, undeservedly neglected amid the focus of attention on Persian Gulf reserves.

"It is not that we have to start from scratch, we have the basic infrastructure, but have to make great move forward to nurture our truly robust blue economy," Khan said, contending that Pakistan also had "some experience in oil and gas exploration."

Pakistan now has the ports of Karachi, Qasim and Gawada, but Khan said more of those and other infrastructure will need to be built to work the country's maritime potential. This, in turn, will give a boost to tourism, the official expects.

According to the International Monetary Fund, Pakistan's real GDP is currently at his lowest since 1980. The country's economic growth has been on an acute downward curve since 2018, while inflation and average consumer prices grew dramatically over the past three years.