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ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday tasked authorities with increasing Pakistan’s annual exports to $60 billion within three years, stressing the need to address exporters’ grievances as Islamabad seeks to increase its foreign exchange reserves while battling a macroeconomic crisis.

Pakistan is trying to recover from a protracted economic crisis that has seen the South Asian country’s currency weaken, reserves plummet and inflation soar to record levels over the past two years. To stabilize its fragile $350 billion economy, Islamabad has stepped up efforts in recent months to build trade and investment ties with regional allies.

Sharif chaired a meeting of Pakistan’s National Export Development Board on Tuesday to take stock of the country’s exports and discuss ways to increase them.

“The Ministry of Commerce and other institutions should take practical steps to achieve the target of increasing exports to $60 billion in the next three years,” the prime minister was quoted as saying by his office.

Sharif pointed out that Pakistan’s annual exports crossed the $30 billion mark in the last fiscal year, adding that the government’s policies pushed the country’s IT exports to over $3.2 billion. He directed the authorities to resolve the exporters’ complaints and submit a report to him within two weeks.

“We pay our respects to the businessmen and investors who have contributed their part to increasing Pakistan’s exports despite difficult conditions,” Sharif said, according to the Prime Minister’s Office.

The Prime Minister called for reducing the delivery time of Pakistani goods to Europe and America and said this could be achieved by solving transportation problems. He stressed that the quality of Pakistani exports must be improved through research and development, innovation and brand development. He directed the Pakistani Ministry of Energy to come up with a comprehensive plan to provide low-cost electricity to the industries.

Sharif warned Pakistan’s tax authority, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), against delaying refunds to exporters and urged trade officials in Pakistan’s missions abroad to promote the country’s exports and help exporters increase their sales.