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Pakistan hopeful of positive response from Qatar, Saudi Arabia soon, says finance minister

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  • Pakistan is seeking financial assistance from Saudi Arabia, Qatar and UAE, says Miftah Ismail.
  • Saudi Arabia, hopefully, will reload [deposit money in Pakistan’s central bank] before December, he says.
  • Pakistan is also finalising a bailout package with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Pakistan is seeking financial assistance from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to stabilise the economy and is hopeful for a positive result, revealed Finance Minister Miftah Ismail.

Speaking on Geo News programme Jirga, the finance minister announced that Pakistan had reached out to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and UAE to help the cash-strapped country.

“Saudi Arabia, hopefully, will reload [deposit money in Pakistan’s central bank] before December,” the minister told Jirga’s host, “Also, the Kingdom may extend Pakistan’s limit to buy oil on credit.”

The government has also sought support from Qatar, the minister said. “We are talking to Qatar to let us buy Liquefied natural gas (LNG) on loan. We are also talking to the UAE [for financial assistance],” he added.

Separately, Ismail explained that $2.4 billion loan will be received from China in two or three days, as all the formalities related to the loan have been completed after a recent visit by Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.

Pakistan is also finalising a bailout package with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), prior to which the government hiked up the price of petrol and removed subsidies put in place by the previous government, as demanded by the international lending body.

“If we did not make these decisions [with the IMF] it would have been difficult for Pakistan,” Ismail said on the show, “I am being honest here. We had to save Pakistan from defaulting.” He added that a further increase in petrol prices cannot be ruled out as it was a “moving target”, meaning it depended on the price of petrol in the international market.

Under a new agreement with the IMF, the price of electricity could also be boosted, revealed the minister.

“In March [former prime minister] Imran Khan reduced the price of electricity by Rs.5 per unit,” Miftah Ismail explained, “That will have to be removed at some point.”

On rolling power outages in the country this summer, the minister said Pakistan has a power generation capacity of 28,000 MW, excluding the capacity of the Karachi Electric, while the demand for electricity is close to 19,000 MW.

Through repair work at power plants, and providing fuel to the plants, the capacity would be increased, he added. “Before Eid, the capacity will be increased to 36,000 MW,” he said, which would reduce load shedding in the country.

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Islamic Sukuk Bonds: Government Is Expected To Begin Bond Auction Next Week

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There is now more positive economic news for the people of Pakistan. The government is anticipated to begin the Sukuk Islamic Bond auction next week, after the central bank’s announcement of a large drop in the policy rate.

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SIFC Encourages Green Tourism: Reforming Visas to Increase Investment

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Enhancing investment in the tourism sector, Green Tourism Pakistan’s initiative has received backing from the Special Investment Facilitation Council.

Visa-On-Arrival for 126 countries, Visa-Free Entry for Gulf Cooperation Council nations, and 24-hour expedited visa processing are some of the main features of the Green Tourism Visa Policy.

It is anticipated that these endeavors will draw in about 80 million dollars in foreign direct investment and 8.3 billion rupees in domestic investment.

Green Tourism Private Limited has introduced hunting resorts in Naltar, Hunza, and Skardu, along with four- and five-star city hotels, to improve the tourism experience.

In the first phase of the project, 17 of the 78 areas have seen the start of development activity.

Approved is a central authority for Green Tourism that will supervise the growth of Air Operations.

To promote Religious Tourism, extra precautions have been taken to guarantee the security of visitors from all religions, including Sikhs and Buddhists.

Furthermore, in order to improve the quality of the tourist experience, the green guide quality program has been introduced to supply top-notch tour guides.

There is now a deluxe bus excursion from Islamabad to Peshawar that promotes local culture.

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July 2024 export data from Pakistan shows a significant rise.

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The Strategic Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) has been instrumental in improving Pakistani products’ access to international markets, as seen by the significant surge in exports from the country at the start of the 2024–25 fiscal year.

With a 7.26% rise over the same month the previous year, July 2024 exports to the US were $476.017 million. After increasing by 7.74% annually, the United Arab Emirates emerged as the second-largest export destination.

The third and fourth places were occupied by exports to the UK ($183.303 million) and China ($60.100 million). A substantial increase in exports to Afghanistan was recorded in July of this year, rising from $46.262 million to $88.065 million, largely due to successful anti-smuggling efforts.

With a combined export volume of $553.951 million, more important export destinations included Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey.

A bright future for the national economy is suggested by the growing confidence major international markets have in Pakistani exports. Through the efforts of SIFC and the government, this greater access to global markets has been made possible.

Pakistan’s economy is predicted to remain stable as a result of the export growth that SIFC has enabled.

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