ISLAMABAD, July 2 – In his latest presser on Friday, Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif has thanked China for standing by Pakistan at the time of massive economic challenges.
“The government made tough decisions to ensure Pakistan’s economic stability. China saved Pakistan from default in the last three months,” he declared, adding the friendly country played a central role in this regard.
In his latest tweet the Prime Minister highlighted that the IMF Stand-by Agreement is a much-needed breather, which will help the country achieve economic stability, the nations are not built through loans. “I pray for this new program to be the last one,” he said.
Prime Minister Shahbaz also gave special thanks to the other friendly countries and partners including Saudi Arabia, UAE and Islamic Development Fund for standing by Pakistan at the time of great economic challenges.
“Under a whole-of-the-government approach, we have worked out an Economic Revival Plan, which will focus on unlocking our strategic potential in agriculture, mine and minerals, defense production and information technology,” he added.
The Plan will bring up investments of billions of dollars and create job opportunities for four million people. It may be a tough journey but as they say, “When the going gets tough, the tough gets going,” he concluded.
In a recent development, the International Monetary Fund and Pakistan have reached a staff-level agreement on a bigger than expected $3bn Stand-By Arrangement (SBA), a last-minute rescue package for the country facing an acute balance of payments crisis.
Islamabad was racing against time to unlock $1.1bn under the IMF’s ninth review of a $6.5bn Extended Fund Facility agreed upon in 2019. The program was due to expire on Friday. The board of the global lender will meet in mid-July to approve the staff-level agreement.
