CPEC, TAPI to greatly contribute to economic growth, says Dar

Finance Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar has said that future roadmap of Pakistan and South Asia region is economic growth.

He was addressing a ceremony of South Asian Federation of Accountants. He said China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) would not only prove beneficial for Pakistan but also for the entire region. Ishaq Dar said TAPI gas pipeline project, CPEC, CASA-1000 and AIIB (Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank) are the very important initiatives which would help improve economic growth rate. He said the PML-N government had always put the country's economy on track to speedy growth as today twenty-two credible institutions of the world have declared Pakistan economy as much stable. The Finance Minister said government managed to bring down the budget deficit to 4.3 per cent from 8.8 per cent, besides ensuring tax growth rate up to 33 per cent in two years.

He said the agri credit had also been doubled as of today it is over six hundred billion rupees and development expenditure also enhanced to seven hundred billion rupees. Pakistan could easily attain six to seven per cent growth rate. Ishaq Dar said the government is also taking effective steps to end energy crisis and 10,000 MW would be added into the national grid by March 2018.

Meanwhile, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar will leave for Dubai on Monday (today) to lead talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission for the 10th quarterly review of the Extended Fund Facility programme, official sources said on Sunday. Pakistan and IMF have already kick-started review talks in Dubai and first technical round will be completed by the end of this month.

Mr Dar and Herald Finger, IMF's mission chief, will lead respective sides in policy level talks starting next week, officials in the Minis try of Finance said. Secretary Finance Dr Waqar Masood Khan, State Bank of Pakistan Governor Ashraf Mehmood Wathra and Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) Chairman Nisar Mohammad Khan will assist the finance minister. After an expected agreement between the two sides, Mr Finger is expected to visit Islamabad for holding a joint press conference with Mr Dar.

Recommendations will be made for releasing 11th tranche of $500 million to Pakistan after the successful conclusion of talks. The sources added that Pakistan authorities would brief the IMF delegation in details on tax revenues, reforms in energy sector and privatisation programme during the meeting.