Islamabad: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed gratitude to China for providing Pakistan with unwavering support during difficult economic times and pledged to lead the nation out of crisis.
In his remarks at the PM’s National Innovation Awards ceremony on Monday in Islamabad, the premier said, “China is fully supporting Pakistan and $1 billion has been received from China.” China announced refinancing a $1 billion loan in Pakistan, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) confirmed late on Friday, providing a significant boost to the foreign exchange reserves.
The announcement of the refinancing came after Finance Minister Ishaq Dar revealed on Friday that China would be refinancing the $1 billion loan it had previously provided to Pakistan to the Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue of the National Assembly.
“$1 billion will come from China today or on Monday,” 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’s 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.
PM 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.
The prime minister said Pakistan has been “blessed” with natural resources and it has capacity to become self-sufficient.
“We will come out of the economic and financial challenges,” the premier said.
He 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.
Meanwhile, Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) politicians Monday called on Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif here and discussed with him matters of current political situations.
A four-member delegation led by former Member Provincial Assembly Khawaja Imran Nazir met with the prime minister and thanked him for approving various development projects for youth and farmers of the country especially Punjab in budget 2023-24.
The delegation also paid tributes to the prime minister for providing youth the opportunities of education and employment through the laptop scheme.
In a separate meeting, Member National Assembly Chaudhry Abid Raza Kotla met with PM Shehbaz and discussed various matters including the current political situation.
