Tough economic times
\nPM Shehbaz Sharif emphasises need for getting rid of loans to become self-sufficient
\nIslamabad
\nPrime Minister Shehbaz Sharif appreciated China for extending all-out support to Pakistan during challenging economic times and expressed resolve to steer the country of crisis.
\n\u201cChina is fully supporting Pakistan and $1 billion have been received from China,\u201d the premier said while addressing the PM\u2019s National Innovation Awards ceremony in Islamabad on Monday.
\nIn a major boost to the forex reserves, China announced refinancing $1 billion loan in Pakistan, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) confirmed late on Friday.
\nThe news of the refinancing came after Finance Minister Ishaq Dar informed the National Assembly\u2019s Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue on Friday that China would be refinancing the $1 billion loan it had given to Pakistan earlier.
\n\u201c$1 billion will come from China today or on Monday,\u201d Dar had told the lawmakers. He also said that talks are ongoing with the Bank of China for a loan of $300 million. He added that Pakistan would also receive dollars under China\u2019s swap agreement. Speaking at the ceremony earlier today, the prime minister also praised Saudi Arabia, Qatar and UAE for helping Pakistan in the challenging times.
\nPM Shehbaz emphasised the need for getting rid of foreign loans saying the friendly countries also urged Pakistan to use foreign loans efficiently to fully utilise the potential of natural resources.
\nThe prime minister said Pakistan has been \u201cblessed\u201d with natural resources and it has capacity to become self-sufficient.
\n\u201cWe will come out of the economic and financial challenges,\u201d the premier said.
\nHe also proposed non-partisan agenda to lift the country out of crisis saying that all stakeholders including opposition parties needed to agree on the economic and foreign policy agenda to ensure continuation of the policies. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Tough economic times PM Shehbaz Sharif emphasises need for getting rid of loans to become self-sufficient Islamabad Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif appreciated China for extending all-out support to Pakistan during challenging economic times and expressed resolve to steer the country of crisis. \u201cChina is fully supporting Pakistan and $1 billion have been received from China,\u201d […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":338746,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-338719","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-top-news"},"yoast_head":"\n