Islamabad: Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan on Tuesday directed Finance Advisor Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh and State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Governor Dr Reza Baqir to work out the final details regarding the incentives for remittances and other policies to facilitate overseas Pakistan — a news source reported. The premier took the opportunity to refer to the Pakistanis abroad as the ‘nation’s assets’.
He further said that facilitating the overseas Pakistanis was a high priority for the federal government. He made these comments while presiding over a meeting to discuss various methods to boost remittances by providing further incentives to the Pakistanis living abroad.
Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Overseas Pakistanis Zulfiqar Bukhari said that nearly 1 million Pakistanis had immigrated overseas during the past 18 months, and that remittances to the country had improved as compared to other South Asian nations.
Despite the economic slowdown caused by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, Pakistan has received USD 20.5 billion in remittances during the current fiscal year — with the number showing a slight increase when compared to the USD 20.1 billion received during the previous fiscal year.
