"The government has prepared a 3-year roadmap for achieving medium term targets under which Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth to gradually rise to around 6-7 percent, investment to GDP ratio to rise from 12.6 percent to 20 percent, Tax to GDP ratio to rise from 8.5 percent to 13 percent, fiscal deficit to be brought down from 8.8 percent to 4 percent of the GDP, foreign exchange reserves to be increased to around US $ 20 billion, public debt to be reduced to below 60 percent of the GDP as per statutory requirement", Dar told the members of the Federal Cabinet which was chaired by Prime Minister Mohammad Nawaz Sharif here today.

"With Allah's blessings we honour, what we say, we deliver, what we promise we work in silence and wait for success to speak", he remarked.

Highlighting the situation of national economy in June 2013, he told the Cabinet that economy was weak and fragile.

He said that growth rate averaged less than 3 percent in the last five years -significantly below our potential, inflation averaged around 12 percent, foreign exchange reserves were at US $ 11 billion in June 2013 despite significant support from the IMF during last five years and the circular debt of Rs.503 billion was crippling the power sector and the economy.

Ishaq Dar told them that investment to GDP ratio was declining continuously and had reached to 12.6 percent while Tax to GDP ratio had declined to 8.5 percent, fiscal deficit of 2012-13 was to close at 8.8 percent, debt to GDP ratio has increased in last five years from 52.6 percent of GDP to 62.7 percent of the GDP.

About Public debt, he said that it was 2.94 trillion on June 30,1999,increased to Rs.6.04 trillion on June 30,2008 and further increased to Rs.14.36 trillion on June 30,2013.

(APP)