by admin | May 25, 2021 | Muslim World
Islamabad : Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has described a $6 billion Saudi bailout package as a “big relief” for the country and vowed to mediate between Riyadh and Yemen to end their ongoing conflict.
Accusing the previous two governments of plunging the country into its worst financial crisis, Khan in his address to the nation after returning from Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, said the opposition parties’ recent plan to form an alliance was aimed at pressing the government to get some relief under a deal like the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) that was bestowed upon them by former President Pervez Musharraf, reports Dawn news.
“Keep in mind that unlike Pervez Musharraf, I will not come under any pressure and will not give any NRO to the corrupt,” the Prime Minister warned the opposition parties.
Expressing gratitude to the Saudi leadership for helping Pakistan at a time of need, Khan, who had travelled along with his cabinet members to Riyadh to attend the Future Investment Initiative Conference on a special invitation of King Salman bin Abdel Aziz, said: “We could go into default but the ‘tremendous’ financial package from Saudi Arabia has relieved our burden.”
He said Pakistan had been mulling over decision to get a loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), but any major assistance from the lender would have put additional burden on the nation.
“Now the government won’t need much from the IMF,” he added.
Khan also discussed with the Saudi leaders the conflict in neighbouring Yemen, as he announced that Pakistan would play the role of a mediator in the war.
“One more important thing I want to share with you that I will make all-out efforts to get resolved Saudi Arabia-Yemen conflict by acting as a mediator.
“We will also try our best to play a mediatory role in bringing all the Muslim nations together,” Dawn quoted the Prime Minister as saying.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Investing, Muslim World
Riyadh : At the invitation of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan arrived in Saudi Arabia to participate in the Future Investment Initiative (FII) conference that kicked off in Riyadh on Tuesday. During the high level talks held on the sidelines of FII, it was agreed that the Kingdom will provide Pakistan with up to $3 billion in deferred payments for oil imports for one year, Pakistan’s government said in a statement on Tuesday.
Khan is accompanied, during the visit, by Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Finance Minister Asad Umar, Information Minister Fawad Ahmed, Advisor to the Prime Minister on Commerce Abdul Razaq Dawood, and Chairman of the Board of Investment (BoI) Haroon Sharif.
During the visit, Prime Minister Khan had detailed bilateral discussions with King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who agreed to the premier’s suggestion to reduce visa fee for Pakistani workers, which is a significant step toward enhancing Pakistan’s workforce in the Kingdom and facilitating travel of people from both countries.
Far-reaching decisions on bilateral economic and financial cooperation were also agreed. These included the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the ministries of finance in the two countries, where it was agreed that Saudi Arabia will give Pakistan $3 billion as a balance of payment support for a year.
The statement noted that the earlier visit to Islamabad by a Saudi delegation had provided the opportunity to evaluate the possibility of investing in a petroleum refinery in Pakistan, where Saudi Arabia confirmed its interest in the project and a MoU will be signed after obtaining cabinet approval. Saudi Arabia also expressed interest in developing mineral resources in Pakistan. For this purpose, a Saudi delegation will be invited to visit Pakistan after consultations between the federal government and the government of Balochistan.
Following the opening of the three-day FII conference, a Pakistan-specific session was organized, in which Prime Minister Khan underlined his country’s priorities toward optimizing the economy and attracting foreign investment.
Stressing the focus of his government on human resource development, Khan highlighted the potential of Pakistan’s youth, identified lucrative investment opportunities in the tourism sector, minerals, coal and gas exploration, and information technology.
Meanwhile, the prime minister said successes have been achieved in the fight against terrorism, citing the peace and stability in the country. He added that this has elaborated the significance of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), including the investment opportunities in the Special Economic Zones (SEZ).
—AB/UNA-OIC
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Muslim World
Islamabad : Islamabad expects that the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) would regain pace after Prime Minister Imran Khan visits Beijing next month with the signing of a framework agreement on industrial zones, progress on agricultural cooperation and addition of a social sector joint working group.
A senior government official told Dawn news on Monday the Khan’s visit to China would reinvigorate the CPEC implementation that had slowed down over the past several months owing to political transition in Pakistan.
During the visit, the two sides would formally ink a framework agreement on industrial zones and set in motion on-ground development of Special Economic Zones (SEZs) starting with Rashakai near Peshawar in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
They would also formally sign documents to include Social Sector Joint Working Group of the Joint Coordination Council (JCC) of the CPEC. He said officials from the two governments were currently in the process of sharing final documents.
A Chinese delegation led by M.A. Aiguo, Vice Minister for Agriculture and Rural Affairs, are currently in Pakistan to explore areas of mutual interest in the agriculture sector, considered by the two governments as key to employment generation and increase in crop output.
The delegation had a meeting with Privatisation Minister Khusro Bakhtiar on Monday and was given an overview of Pakistan’s agriculture sector that employed 45 per cent of manpower, contributed about 24 per cent to GDP, 20 per cent to total exports and provided livelihood to 64 per cent of the country’s rural population, a statement said.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Muslim World
Islamabad : Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan said on Sunday that Finance Minister Asad Umer will present the Mini-Budget on Tuesday.
During his meeting with the owners of Pakistani media outlets in the southern port city of Karachi, Imran Khan called for austerity measures to curtail the country’s expenses. He also stressed the need for eliminating corruption from the society. He further stated that austerity and corruption elimination aspects were the topmost priorities of his government.
According to the Pakistani economic experts, the Pakistani government faces a massive challenge of reducing the burdens of trade deficit and budget deficit, which is weakening its economy.
The government also has to increase its revenues by taxing the rich strata of the society and reducing the burden of tax on the salaried class. The Finance Minister will present the budget for the remaining nine months of the fiscal year of 2018-19. The main aim to present the mini-budget is to streamline the government’s economic policies with the current economic indicators.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Muslim World
Islamabad : Pakistan on Sunday kicked off the “Plant for Pakistan” campaign by Prime Minister Imran Khan who in the drive planted a sapling in the country’s Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.
The campaign “Ten Billion Trees Tsunami” aims at combating the effects of climate change by planting over ten billion trees across the country during the five-year tenure of the current government.
After planting the sapling, the prime minister took to twitter to motivate people to plant trees. “Today we launch our tree plantation drive #Plant4Pakistan across the entire country. I want everyone to join this #GreenPakistan drive so we can counter the twin threats of climate change and pollution confronting our future generations,” the Prime Minister tweeted.
Khan’s advisor on climate change Malik Amin Aslam said that trees were planted and distributed freely across the whole country with an objective to motivate the general public to make Pakistan greener.
An estimated 1.5 million trees will be planted in the first phase in various cities of the country including the capital city Islamabad, by students, government employees, workers of Imran Khan’s political party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf and volunteers.
—IANS
