Economy on right track despite difficult conditions: Dawood

KARACHI: The prime minister’s adviser on Commerce, Abdul Razak Dawood, on Saturday said the economy is on the right track despite difficult conditions, ARY News reported.

Addressing a conference in Karachi, Dawood said imports of the country should be decreased to improve the economy. “Pakistan will achieve its all-time high exports target soon.”

He relayed that the government was utilizing all resources to create investment opportunities and streamline the national economy.

On the other hand, on Jan 17, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) stated in its report that the overall foreign reserves of Pakistan were recorded at the level of $13.48bn after a dip of $140.80 mn due to external debt servicing and other payments.

The reserves held by the SBP are currently standing at $6.90bn whereas the forex reserves available with the commercial banks were at $6.58bn level.

In a data released by the central bank’s weekly report, the reserves held by the SBP stood at $7.4bn whereas the forex reserves available with the commercial banks were at $6.54bn level.

Pakistan is struggling to meet its debt-service requirements and is facing a balance of payments crisis which has resulted in a rapid decline of the reserves.

However, the situation is expected to improve soon as the United Arab Emirates (UAE) had finalised a financial package for Pakistan worth $6.2bn, while a $1bn tranche from Saudi Arabia is likely to be released in the month of February.

China had also confirmed that the Asian giant would soon provide Pakistan with $2bn in financial aid to support its economy.