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Pakistan To Sign Agreement With IMF Soon: Finance Minister

PESHAWAR: Finance Minister Asad Umar on Monday announced that Islamabad was likely to sign an agreement with International Monetary Fund as the international financial body changed its position.

While talking to reporters in the provincial capital Peshawar, the Finance Minister said that the current government will make better decisions in strengthen national economy.

Sources said that a session of Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) will be held on Tuesday (tomorrow) under chair of the Finance Minister Asad Umar. Major decisions were likely to made in the upcoming session of the committee.

Asad Umar said that the deteriorating economic situation will not be made better by anyone else but the

“Betterment in the deteriorating [economic] situation will only be brought by us but by anyone else,” said Umar.

While detailing new gas and mineral resources, the minister said that gas reservoirs were discovered in Karak, Laki Marwat and Kohat as bigger reservoirs of gas were located in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).

He urged need of promoting hydel and gas sectors in the KP, adding that low-cost electricity will be generated by the provision of water to the province.

He said that the Centre was willing to coordinate with KP government for meeting many economic challenges.

He said that the belt connecting with Balochistan province has rich reservoirs of minerals. He clarified that each province has prior right on its newly discovered resources.

Commenting over trade with neighbouring countries, Asad Umar said that Peshawar was considered as transit point for trade in Central Asia and Afghanistan. He said that peace establishment in Afghanistan will also bring peace in Pakistan. Torkham border should be opened for 24 hours daily, he urged.

He also urged for increasing volume of trade with Afghanistan and Iran as rise in exports will benefit the national economy besides creating employments. He said that trade activities with India were suspended due to some issues.

The Finance Minister highlighted that Prime Minister Imran Khan was given special attention on tourism sector as it was the third biggest sector of the country.

He said that Malaysia was earning $22 billion yearly through the tourism sector while Turkey’s national income with tourism reached to $44 billion a year.

While answering a question regarding political scenario, Asad Umar complained that the people seemed unhappy with me when I was going to my chamber while some people was heard saying that the finance minister was not present in his chamber.