LAHORE: Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Reforms Ahsan Iqbal has said that the use of modern technology plays a vital role in bringing prosperity to the nation. The minister said this while addressing a ceremony, held at Virtual University on Saturday, for distribution of laptops among students under the Prime Minister’s Laptop Scheme. He said it was an era of knowledge-based economy in which strong linkages between academia and industry were vital for national development. He said that the countries, which did not benefit from industrial revolution, remained behind in terms of economic growth. Ahsan Iqbal said that in the future only those nations would be able to attain higher socio-economic development that had latest communication systems and used modern technology. He said that development and change could not be attained in a moment, adding that the energy generated during the three years of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government was more than the energy produced from 1947 to 2013. The minister hoped that Pakistan would be included in the top 25 best economies by 2025 in case of continuation of the economic policies put in place by the PML-N. He said that continuation in stability, peace and democracy was needed for prosperity, adding that the nation had to change in line with the time and circumstances for development. The minister said that importance of Pakistan had been increased and confidence of the investors restored in the country due to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). He said that Karachi had become a financial engine of the country and Balochistan was playing its role in national development due to efforts for peace, development and construction of roads in the province. “Pakistan is getting prominent as an important economy in the region,” he added. He said that all international financial papers were saying that Pakistan was becoming one of the strongest economies of the world. He said the state had successfully tackled the issue of terrorism now and terrorists were looking for places to hide. He said that some people were causing anarchy and trying to destabilise the country, which could damage the CPEC project.