ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan said on Saturday that his economic team has changed the national economy over a period of one year, especially in reference to a sharp decrease in the current account deficit and an increase in investments.
The prime minister of a series of tweets shared some data charts showing the performance of foreign direct investment, exports and remittances, as well as a sharp decrease in the current account deficit.
Khan said there was a 111.5 percent increase in foreign direct investment and a 194 percent increase in foreign private investment over the past year. The massive increase in investments was a reflection of the confidence of foreign investors in the government's economic policies, he added.
The prime minister said the current account deficit was at a minimum of 41 months in September 2019, indicating that the economy was recovering. Between July and September, the first quarter of the current fiscal year, the current account deficit decreased by a huge 64 percent to $ 1.5 billion from $ 4.3 billion in the last year. It was mainly led by a 21{7be40b84a6a43fc4fae13304fce9a2695859798abfc41afd127b9f8b21c5f9c5} decrease in imports.
Pakistan had witnessed the largest current account deficit of $ 18.25 billion before Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf took over the government. He went on to say that Pakistani remittances abroad showed a 17.6 percent increase in remittances over the past month.
Imran asked the ministries to lower the prices of wheat, sugar, cooking oil, fruits and vegetables, says Firdous
The fiscal deficit, the difference between federal government revenues and expenditures, decreased by 36 percent in the first quarter of the current fiscal year as revenues increased and spending cuts were reduced.
The economic team of Prime Minister Khan, led by the financial advisor, Dr. Hafeez Shaikh, who is currently visiting Washington to attend the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund / World Bank-2019, held a series of meetings with the heads of several Global financial institutions and business leaders to inform them about the general state of the economy in Pakistan.
The purpose of these meetings, according to an official statement, is to focus on government measures to reduce twin deficits and revive various sectors of the economy through institutional reforms and collaboration with regional and international investment partners.
The governor of the State Bank, Dr. Reza Baqir, and the secretary of Finance, Naveed Kamran, held an extensive meeting with the president of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Takehiko Nakao, and exchanged views with him on the projects in course financed by the ADB in Pakistan, as well as the planned portfolio.
The financial advisor informed the ADB president about the measures taken by the government to reduce current and capital account deficits effectively. In his comments, ADB President Nakao said that ADB was an important financial partner of Pakistan and acknowledged the current structural reforms undertaken towards economic stabilization in Pakistan.
Dr. Shaikh also met with the Vice President of the South Asia Region (SAR) of the World Bank, Hartwig Schafer, and his team. The meeting reviewed the BM portfolio in Pakistan and exchanged views on additional steps to strengthen cooperation between Pakistan and the Bank.
Later, the financial advisor along with a delegation met with the Director of the IMF's Middle East and Central Asia (MCD) Department, Jihad Azour. They discussed the implementation of the IMF's ongoing program. The IMF director thanked Pakistan for its progress towards economic stabilization, as well as the government's commitment to the reform process.
Essential Amenities
Meanwhile, the Special Assistant to the Prime Minister of Information, Dr. Firdous Ashiq Awan, told the media that the Prime Minister had ordered federal ministries and provincial governments to take measures to reduce the prices of wheat, sugar, Cooking oil, fruits and vegetables to provide relief. to the public
He said the address came from the prime minister during the three-hour meeting with the main ministers of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, chief secretaries, ministers of food, agriculture, statistics, trade and industry and cane commissioners. Khan asked them to adopt a comprehensive strategy on ways to reduce commodity prices, he added.
Dr. Awan said that Sindh province had not secured the timely acquisition of wheat flour, which resulted in depletion of stocks and rising prices. To control the situation, Prime Minister Khan asked the Pakistan Agricultural Storage and Services Corporation (PASSCO) to release 100,000 million tons of wheat for Sindh to fill the supply and demand gap. He said the prime minister also ordered the Economic Coordination Committee to develop a comprehensive strategy and recommendations within three days after the release of wheat stocks and the price reduction.
In addition, she hinted at the possibility of importing wheat in case of lower stock of the product to keep prices stable.
Extending support to farmers, the adviser said that sugarcane producers were paid according to the support price of 180 rupees per 40 kilograms. The prime minister, according to her, showed disgust at the rise in sugar prices and asked to take action against speculators and hoarders.
Khan suggested to the chief ministers of Punjab and KP to establish farmers' markets to end the role of intermediaries, he told the media. He also directed the Federal Revenue Board to rationalize the regulatory duty on cooking oil, he added. The adviser related the rising prices of tomatoes and onions with the blockade of imports from India and said that new crops in Pakistan would improve the situation.
Posted on Dawn, October 20, 2019
Source: https://www.dawn.com/news/1511892/pm-heaps-praise-on-team-for-economic-turnaround