ISLAMABAD: A MoU signing ceremony was held between Pakistan and World Liberty Financial in which Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chief of Defense Forces Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir attended.
According to a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s House, a delegation from World Liberty Financial, USA led by Chief Executive Officer Zachary Witkoff called on Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in Islamabad.
Deputy Prime Minister Muhammad Ishaq Dar, Chief of Defense Forces and Chief of Army Staff, Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, Special Assistant Syed Tariq Fatemi and Chairman Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority Bilal Bin Saqib also attended the meeting.
Welcoming the delegation, the Prime Minister expressed his vision for a Digital Pakistan that aims to promote connectivity, ease of access and transparency for citizens.
Shahbaz Sharif said that the growth of digital payments and financial innovation are key components of Pakistan’s rapidly expanding digital economy.
The Prime Minister appreciated the growing international interest in Pakistan’s digital financial markets and expressed satisfaction that Pakistan is rapidly becoming a part of the global digital economy.
Mr. Zachary Witkoff expressed interest in working with Pakistan for a secure and transparent digital payment infrastructure, which includes innovations in cross-border settlement and foreign exchange acquisition and disbursement processes.
He appreciated Pakistan’s policy framework which is playing a significant role in highlighting the country as a key player in the global digital economy.
He expressed his desire to further deepen relations with Pakistan in terms of next-generation digital payments and cross-border financial innovations.
Later, Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif and Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir witnessed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Government of Pakistan and SC Financial Technologies LLC.
An affiliate of World Liberty Financial, to facilitate dialogue and exchange of technical understanding on emerging digital payment architectures for cross-border transactions.
Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb and CEO World Liberty Financial Zachary Witkoff signed the MoU.
True, some firms are leaving the country: Finance Minister
Furthermore, Federal Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb has admitted that some companies are leaving Pakistan and it is a fact that high taxes and high energy prices are serious problems for businesses.
Addressing the Pakistan Policy Dialogue in Islamabad, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said that development is possible only through economic reforms, steps are being taken to improve the economy, the private sector must come forward and play a role in the economy.
He said that tax policy has been transferred from the FBR to the Finance Division, so that the process of policy making and tax collection can be separated, the FBR’s focus is on tax collection, all government payments will be transferred to digital channels by June this year, unbanked individuals are being included in the regular financial system.
He said that different people have different opinions on remittances, last year $38 billion in remittances came, this year $41 billion in remittances are expected.
Muhammad Aurangzeb said that duties will have to be rationalized and business costs will be reduced. For the first time in 78 years, duties on raw materials are being reduced through tariff reforms. The reduction in tariffs will increase Pakistan’s exports and industrial production. The current economic reforms can prove to be an East Asia Moment for Pakistan. Debt repayments have not decreased themselves. We have taken steps.
The Federal Finance Minister said that it is true that some companies are leaving the country. We should admit that if taxes or energy prices are high, these are real problems.
He added that local investors participated in the privatization of PIA, 24 institutions have been handed over to the Privatization Commission, about one thousand billion rupees are being wasted in government institutions every year, utility stores, PWD and PASSCO were closed, and there was corruption in the subsidies given to these institutions.
Adviser to the Prime Minister on Privatization Muhammad Ali, while addressing the Pakistan Policy Dialogue, said that reforms are indispensable for sustainable economic development, export-led growth is being promoted, the government is committed to economic reforms.
He said that there is no shortage of skills, there is a need to mobilize the public and capital, policymakers, business community and academic experts are on the same page for economic reforms.
Muhammad Ali said that along with macro and micro indicators, there is a need for basic structural changes, the inclusion of women in the process of economic development is essential, the wrong economic strategy of the past discouraged private investment, privatization is not an ideological project but a way to correct market failures.
