Remittances Surpass $ 21.2 Bln Target :Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan

Sumaira FH Published August 20, 2019 | 12:42 PM

Due to THE initiatives taken by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government, the remittances surpassed the target of $ 21.2 billion in the financial year 2019 showing an increase of 9.68 percent over the previous year

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 18th Aug, 2019 ):Due to THE initiatives taken by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government, the remittances surpassed the target of $ 21.2 billion in the financial year 2019 showing an increase of 9.68 percent over the previous year.

According to the one-year performance report of Ministry of Finance shared by Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Information and Broadcasting Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan on Sunday, the major share of remittances was from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, the United States, the United Kingdom and other Gulf Cooperation Council countries.

Due to the government's effective policies, current account deficit declined significantly by 31.7 percent during FY2019 as compared to 57.

6 percent growth the last year.

Simultaneously, import bill decreased by 7.3 percent in FY2019 as compared to 16.2 percent growth in FY2018.

Pakistan's ease of doing business index improved by 11 points, which hopefully would attract foreign investors in the country.

To boost up the agriculture sector, the government announced "National Agriculture Emergency Programme" under which Rs 280 billion would be spent for uplift of the agriculture sector during next five years. The government successfully negotiated with the International Monetary Fund Extended Fund Facility (EFF) programme of about US$6 billion, which would not only support the balance of payment but also strengthen the market confidence.