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Finance Minister Miftah Ismail stated on Wednesday that the inflow of dollars is expected to exceed the outflow over the next month, bringing economic stability.
He stated at a seminar that Pakistan has diesel and petrol reserves for 43 and 30 days, respectively, eliminating the need to import petroleum for the next 15 days.
He stated that imports in July totaled only $3.77 billion, with a maximum import tariff of $4.4 billion for the month. This will reduce the outflow of dollars from the nation, lowering the rupee"s value against the dollar.
The finance minister went on to say that the current govt is focusing on agriculture because the manufacturing sector requires heavy machinery imports. Increasing agricultural exports and remittance inflows will allow the total inflow to exceed the total outflow of the dollar over the next month, he added.
The minister reaffirmed that the recession is global as a result of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and Pakistan is not alone in this situation.
In response to the failure of state-owned enterprises (SOEs), he stated that the solution is to privatise these entities. The government is taking important steps to improve privatisation laws, which will aid in this process.
During his speech, the minister said that the government is attempting to enhance anti-corruption legislation. He also chastised existing institutions and the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), claiming that it has been in operation for 20 years and has failed to control corruption.
According to the finance minister, the government is also enacting new legislation to allow foreign countries to invest in the Pakistani stock market. He clarified that the companies" management will not be sold to foreigners, which will help Pakistan close its $4 billion external financing gap during the current fiscal year.
He reiterated that Pakistan would soon receive funding from friendly nations to close the $4 billion funding gap, but that the funding would be greater than the required amount.
The minister assured the audience that the government had brought the country out of default, but that strict measures were required to sustain economic growth. The country"s economic outlook is positive, and it has met all of the IMF"s conditions, allowing the programme to be restarted in the coming weeks, he added.