Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb has said that last fiscal year, overseas Pakistanis remitted 41.6 billion dollars, while it is expected that this amount will increase to 44 billion dollars this fiscal year.
He spoke to the media on the sidelines of the Pakistan Remittance and Roshan Digital Account road show at the Pakistan High Commission in London on Wednesday night.
Governor State Bank of Pakistan Jameel Ahmed along with representatives of Meezan Bank and UBL also participated in the event.
The Federal Finance Minister said that the amount coming into the Roshan Digital Account is increasing every month, last year Pakistan received 6.9 billion dollars in foreign exchange from Britain.
Mohammad Aurangzeb said that today there was a meeting with the local Minister of Commerce Anas Sarwar, in which different methods of promotion of trade were considered, now our focus is not aid but trade.
He said that due to the conflict in the Middle East, there was a fear that the remittances from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries would decrease, but this did not happen, but they have increased.
Regarding the situation after the Iran conflict, the finance minister said that the government handled the situation very well, there was no shortage of petrol in the country, there were no queues for petrol and there was no law and order problem.
He said that the situation is definitely difficult because the situation related to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, Bab Al-Hind and the pipeline is in front, but Pakistan is safe till September, October is also fine while planning is being done for November.
In response to a question regarding inflation, the finance minister said that the wave of inflation has come all over the world and Pakistan has also been affected by it.
He said that Pakistan received 4.6 billion dollars from IT export services last year, of which 1.6 billion dollars came from freelancers, freelancers are our young boys and girls, to whom the government will provide more facilities and training so that they can earn more income.
Mohammad Aurangzeb said that the government is also paying close attention to the renewal of GSP Plus, Pakistan is moving towards export oriented development.
Addressing the ceremony, State Bank Governor Jameel Ahmed gave a detailed briefing to the participants regarding the economic situation of Pakistan and the role of overseas Pakistanis, while Pakistani High Commissioner Tipu Usman also addressed the ceremony.
Meezan Bank President Syed Aamir Ali said that Roshan digital account can be opened online and remittance through it is very easy, money sent can be recalled at any time, including the profit earned on it.
Head of Corporate Banking, Remittances etc., UBL, Nadia Tabasim said that the response of Roshan Digital Account is very good, it can get best return on investment, while the account system is simple and completely digital, the trust of customers on Roshan Digital Account is increasing day by day.