Finance Minister Miftah Ismail Wednesday said that the inflow of dollars is expected to rise above the outflow during the next month bringing stability to the economy.
Speaking at a seminar, he said that Pakistan had diesel and petrol reserves for 43 days and 30 days, respectively, which negates the need to import fuel for the next 15 days.
He said that the imports during July had reached only $3.77 billion, and the month will end with a maximum import bill of $4.4 billion. This will help to lower the outflow of dollars from the country, lowering the price of the rupee against the dollar.
The finance minister added that the current government is focusing on the agriculture sector as the manufacturing sector required the import of heavy machinery. The increasing agriculture exports and the inflow of remittances will allow the total inflow to overcome the total outflow of the dollar during the next month, he added.
The minister reiterated that the recession is global due to the Russia-Ukraine war, and Pakistan is not the only country experiencing this situation.
Commenting on the issue of the failure of state-owned organizations (SOEs), he said that the solution is the privatization of these entities. The government is taking vital steps to improve the privatization laws which will help in this process.
During his address, the minister revealed that the government is working to improve the anti-corruption laws. He also criticized the existing institutions and the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), saying that it has been working for 20 years and has been unable to control corruption.
The finance minister revealed that the government is also legislating new laws to allow foreign countries to invest in the Pakistani stock market. He clarified that the management of the companies will not be sold to foreigners; this will help Pakistan meet its external financing gap which stood at $4 billion during the current fiscal year.
He repeated that Pakistan would soon get funding from friendly nations to fulfill the financing gap of $4 billion but the financing will be more than the required amount.
The minister assured the attendees that the government had pulled the country out of a situation of default but strict measures needed to be taken to sustain growth in the economy. The country’s economic outlook is positive and has met all the conditions set by the International Monetary Fund, allowing the revival of the program in the upcoming weeks, he added.
