'Foreign exchange reserves reach new historic high of $24.5 billion'

ISLAMABAD: The foreign exchange reserves of the country have reached the new historic high of $24.5 billion, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar announced on Friday.

The finance minister congratulated the Prime Minister and the nation on this achievement and said that we have worked really hard to reach this new level of reserves.

“There was a time when the country had reserves equal to a few weeks payment of the import bill but now, we have reached a level where we have foreign exchange reserves equal to 6 months of import bill,” he said.

Dar also revealed that out of the total reserves, State Bank of Pakistan has $19.5 billion whereas commercial banks have $5 billion of these reserves.

He said that Pakistan is not what it was three years ago, and is more stable and the international investors see the country as a new destination for their investments.

He added that all this has happened with the constant hard work and team effort under the leadership of the Prime Minister.