Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said that the private sector is being encouraged to play a role in the economy. The government will not participate in business conducted by the private sector.
Speaking at a ceremony in Islamabad, Minister Aurangzeb said good news has started coming for the economy as Fitch rating agency has upgraded Pakistan’s rating and the IMF Executive Board will soon approve a $7 billion loan program. With the new IMF loan program, global confidence in Pakistan has improved and the time is not far when the country will achieve economic stability, he added.
The finance minister said the prime minister wants to declare the IMF program the last and reforms are necessary to get rid of the global financial lender.
Aurangzeb said that there is macroeconomic stability in the country which needs to be converted into growth. He added that efforts are being made to attract foreign direct investors and foreign investments are flowing in due to better government policies. He also said that in the first month of this financial year, the FBR achieved the revenue target while the interest rate was cut by the State Bank.
Speaking at the ceremony, Deputy Prime Minister and former Finance Minister Ishaq Dar also said that inflation had come down to 12% from 30% due to government measures, while Pakistan’s stock market was the best in the region. There were opportunities for economic development, but the obstacles needed to be removed, he argued.
He also claimed that billions of dollars worth of foreign investment had left the country in the past two years and had started to return.
