Federal Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb on Tuesday said that Pakistan’s young population has the potential to become the country’s greatest economic strength if properly skilled and empowered.

Addressing a ceremony in Islamabad, the minister said the majority of Pakistan’s population consists of young people, and the government is focusing on equipping them with market-relevant skills to drive economic growth.

Aurangzeb said the country’s key challenge was a lack of discipline in achieving measurable results.

“We are a nation of 240 million people with an annual population growth rate of 2.5 per cent. To reduce poverty, it is essential to move towards sustainable economic improvement,” he said.

The finance minister said the objective was to jointly develop Pakistan’s Social Impact Financing Framework, describing it not merely as a policy statement but as a comprehensive financial structure.

He added that special attention was being given to young women under the PSIB initiative and congratulated NAVTTC and the initial steering committee on what he termed a historic launch.

Aurangzeb said future phases would focus on expanding results-based financing and moving towards public-private partnership models to achieve long-term social and economic outcomes.