F.P. Report
ISLAMABAD: Adviser to the Prime Minister on Parliamentary Affairs Dr Babar Awan on Friday informed the Senate that the new trade policy 2022-2025 was being finalized aimed at addressing all impediments and challenges particularly due to COVID-19 pandemic that hampering country’s export growth.
Responding to various supplementary questions during Question Hour, the adviser said the government was also taking every possible step to increase the country’s exports.
The country’s export to the African countries registered 7 per cent increase in just one year, he said.
He said the prime minister has assigned the target of increasing our exports to Africa by 20 per cent.
Earlier, Pakistan has three missions in African countries, which now have been increased to nine for enhancing the country’s exports, he added. Dr Babar Awan said that Pakistan was exporting tractors to Sudan and Angola, three wheelers to Ethiopia and transformers and home appliances to other African countries.
To a question he said vigorous negotiations were underway with container companies to solve the problems of exporters.
He said the total population of Africa was approximately 1.3 billion, i.e. 15% of the world‘s population, inhabiting 54 countries.
“Pakistan needs to develop a more sustained political efforts if it wants to stay at the front in an area of great strategic significance Pakistan’s trade with Africa had been stagnant at around US $ 3 billion per year for many years,” he said.
He said main reason of this low trade volume has been low level of engagement of Pakistan with Africa. Africa was huge market for exports of pharmaceuticals, surgical, engineering goods etc. Furthermore, services form an integral part of almost all African economies, he said.
He said there was a significant potential of export of IT services to Africa. Africa was also home to some of the fastest growing economies in the world like Ivory Coast, Ethiopia, Ghana, Uganda, Rwanda and Tanzania, which had recorded persistent growth rates of more than 5% in the last decade, he said.
He said in light of the above, Ministry of Commerce launched its “Look Africa Policy” initiative in 2018, to enhance focus and increase engagement with Africa, the second largest continent with a collective GDP of $2.20 trillion.
PSM suffers Rs 67.1 bln overall loss, liability during June –Dec 21: Senate told: Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Ali Muhammad Khan on Friday informed the Senate that Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM) has suffered overall loss and liability of Rs. 67.1 billion from 30th June to 31st December, 2020.
Replying to a query during Question Hour, the minister said the major reasons of the loss of Rs. 8.247 billion during July 2020 to December, 2020 were periodic cost, depreciation expenses and accrued markup on bank and Government loans. During July, 2020 to December, 2020, the Federal Government released an amount of Rs. 11.441 billion for the payment of retirement dues to the employees who filed petitions in the Sindh High Court, he said.
He said an amount of Rs. 11.680 billion was also released for non-petitioners retired up to May 18, 2020 in compliance with the order of the Sindh High Court.
Federal Government also released an amount of Rs. 11.013 billion for the payment of legal dues to the retrenched employees, he added.
The minister said an amount of Rs. 1.961 billion on account of net salary of PSM employees from July to December, 2020 was also released by the government.
All these funds released by the Government of Pakistan were incorporated as loan in the PSM‘s books of accounts which increased the current liability by Rs. 36.094 billion during July 2020, to December, 2020, he said.
Furthermore, a remarkable increase in total liability during the period was caused by the increase in deferred liability by Rs. 30.202 billion due to deferred tax booked on surplus on revaluation of PSM‘s assets, he said. The minister said PSM was a profitable organization till 2008. However, it went into losses during Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) tenure and was completely closed in 2016 by the then Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) government, he said. He said both PPP and PML-N past governments were responsible for ruining of this national institution.
