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FM Qureshi urges importance of debt restructuring as Pakistan assumes G77 chair
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UNITED NATIONS: As Pakistan assumed the chair of the Group of 77 on Friday, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi urged the international community to help developing countries recover from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Developing countries cannot recover if their budgets are further constrained by austerity packages, imposed increases in energy prices, and weakening of their currencies. No country must be prevented from serving its people,” he said in his virtual address to the annual meeting.
The Group of 77 (G77) is a coalition of 134 developing countries in the United Nations, designed to promote their collective economic interests. Pakistan will chair the group for the year 2022.
Pakistan is one of the founding members of the Group and has had the privilege of serving as its chair in New York on three occasions in the past.
Mr Qureshi presided over the proceedings of the opening segment of the handover ceremony held in a virtual format, and also attended by the outgoing Chair (Guinea), UN Secretary-General, and President of the UN General Assembly. The foreign minister pointed out that more than 20 developing countries were in debt distress, and some had already defaulted. “Over 20 countries are food insecure. Famine stalks some, especially in conflict zones in Africa and in Afghanistan,” he warned.
Mr Qureshi identified the triple crisis — the Covid-19 pandemic; the related economic downturn; and the threat posed by climate change” — the world was facing today.
The foreign minister pointed out that this public health crisis had affected the developing countries disproportionately.
“Both because of weak health systems and meager resources, millions in our countries have suffered enormously and mostly in silence. Apart from lost lives, over 150 million have been pushed into extreme poverty,” he said.
Mr Qureshi called for universal distribution of vaccines as the best response to the mutating virus.
The foreign minister reminded the international community that while rich nations had injected over $17 trillion to revive their economies, “most developing countries are still in the grip of the most severe recession in a century”.
He underscored the need for debt restructuring; fulfillment of the 0.7 per cent ODA target; redistribution of the $650 billion new SDRs; and larger concessional finance from the IMF and the multilateral development banks. He also stressed the need to curb the illicit outflow of trillions of dollars from developing countries.
Acknowledging the importance of a healthy environment, the foreign minister urged the industrialized countries to play the lead role in undoing the damage, adding that all climate actions must adhere to the Principle of Common but Differentiated Responsibility.
Published in Dawn, January 15th, 2022
 
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Pakistan’s export of aquatic products to China exceeds $150 million​


BEIJING, Jan 25 (APP):China’s import of major aquatic products from Pakistan (HS Code 03) reached 153 million US dollars in 2021, up 9.8 percent year on year, according to Chinese customs.

From ribbon fish, croakers, cuttle fish, to shrimp, crabs, and lobsters, China is the largest destination of Pakistan’s aquatic export, China Economic Net (CEN) reported on Tuesday.

“Fisheries is a big and emerging industry in Pakistan,” said Dr. Saeed Murtaza Hasan Andravi, Director Animal Sciences Institute NARC, Islamabad. It accounts for less than one percent of GDP, but provides vast employment opportunities for under-developed in Pakistan. Moreover, it can be a profitable profession and a promising means to earn foreign exchange.

 Pakistani people are expecting more from the abundant aquatic resources, especially amid the pandemic. Data from Pakistan Bureau of Statistics show that Pakistan exported $200 million of fish products in the first half of FY2021-22, up 3.18% year-on-year. “We can increase it to 1 billion dollar,” said Muhammad Zafar Kundi, Chairman of Pakistan Fisheries Export Association.

 
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This may be of interest to some..

Pakistani parliament censures government over Iran trade status​

Wednesday, 26 January 2022 5:40 PM [ Last Update: Wednesday, 26 January 2022 5:40 PM ]

US Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) (L) talks with Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) during a rally with fellow Democrats before voting on H.R. 1, or the People Act, on the East Steps of the US Capitol on March 08, 2019 in Washington, DC. (AFP photo)

File photo shows Pakistani Prime Minister's Adviser on Commerce and Investment Abdul Razak Dawood (L) during a trade meeting in the Iranian capital Tehran on November 6, 2021.
The Pakistani parliament has voiced dissatisfaction over the low level of trade between the country and neighboring Iran as lawmakers censure the government in Islamabad for its lack of action to get round US sanctions on Tehran to enable trade between the two countries to boom.
A report by the Express Tribune published on Wednesday said that Chairman of the Standing Committee on Commerce in Pakistan’s National Assembly Naveed Qamar had demanded explanations from senior trade officials in the country about why trade ties with Iran were extremely low.
Qamar rejected a statement made by a representative of Pakistan’s commerce ministry during a hearing on Tuesday claiming that US sanctions have seriously affected trade ties with Iran.
The senior lawmaker said that even European countries have been engaged in trade with Iran despite their adherence to the US sanctions.
Iran reports 74% surge in exports to India in March-December
Iran reports 74% surge in exports to India in March-December
Iran’s exports to India topped $1.34 billion in the nine months to late December.
Qamar summoned officials from State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) for a hearing next week where the lender is expected to offer explanations on why banks in the country have been hesitant about processing payments related to trade with Iran, said the report by the Express Tribune
The report added that lawmakers in the Pakistani parliament had been “strongly displeased” that Prime Minister's Adviser on Commerce and Investment Abdul Razak Dawood had been absent from the Tuesday session of the commerce committee which was focused on Iran.
Dawood has been key to Pakistan’s recent efforts meant to increase trade and economic relations with Iran. The official visited Tehran in November to finalize some major bilateral agreements, including a mechanism that could allow bartering Iranian energy products for Pakistani rice.
 
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This may be of interest to some..

Pakistani parliament censures government over Iran trade status​

Wednesday, 26 January 2022 5:40 PM [ Last Update: Wednesday, 26 January 2022 5:40 PM ]

US Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) (L) talks with Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) during a rally with fellow Democrats before voting on H.R. 1, or the People Act, on the East Steps of the US Capitol on March 08, 2019 in Washington, DC. (AFP photo)

File photo shows Pakistani Prime Minister's Adviser on Commerce and Investment Abdul Razak Dawood (L) during a trade meeting in the Iranian capital Tehran on November 6, 2021.
The Pakistani parliament has voiced dissatisfaction over the low level of trade between the country and neighboring Iran as lawmakers censure the government in Islamabad for its lack of action to get round US sanctions on Tehran to enable trade between the two countries to boom.
A report by the Express Tribune published on Wednesday said that Chairman of the Standing Committee on Commerce in Pakistan’s National Assembly Naveed Qamar had demanded explanations from senior trade officials in the country about why trade ties with Iran were extremely low.
Qamar rejected a statement made by a representative of Pakistan’s commerce ministry during a hearing on Tuesday claiming that US sanctions have seriously affected trade ties with Iran.
The senior lawmaker said that even European countries have been engaged in trade with Iran despite their adherence to the US sanctions.
Iran reports 74% surge in exports to India in March-December
Iran reports 74% surge in exports to India in March-December
Iran’s exports to India topped $1.34 billion in the nine months to late December.
Qamar summoned officials from State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) for a hearing next week where the lender is expected to offer explanations on why banks in the country have been hesitant about processing payments related to trade with Iran, said the report by the Express Tribune
The report added that lawmakers in the Pakistani parliament had been “strongly displeased” that Prime Minister's Adviser on Commerce and Investment Abdul Razak Dawood had been absent from the Tuesday session of the commerce committee which was focused on Iran.
Dawood has been key to Pakistan’s recent efforts meant to increase trade and economic relations with Iran. The official visited Tehran in November to finalize some major bilateral agreements, including a mechanism that could allow bartering Iranian energy products for Pakistani rice.
Low level or perhaps UNDOCUMENTED / SMUGGLED?

Iranian Sweets / Confectionary items are easily available in the local market.
GOOD QUALITY + GOOD TASTE + CHEAPER PRICE
 
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China Welcomes Record Exports From Pakistan, Ready To Import More Special Goods: Zhao Lijian​


BEIJING, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 27th Jan, 2022 ) :Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson, Zhao Lijan Thursday welcomed Pakistan's record exports to China and said that Beijing was ready to enhance trade and economic cooperation with Islamabad and support more exports of Pakistani special goods.

"We welcome the news of record exports from Pakistan to China," he said during his regular briefing in response to a question regarding US$3.59 billion export from Pakistan to China during the year 2021.

The spokesperson said that China has been Pakistan's largest trading partner for many years in a row and Pakistan's exports to China are also on rapid rise. "The two sides signed a protocol on the Phase-II of the Free Trade Agreement in 2019. Since the protocol came into effect, it has been effectively implemented and promoted the export of Pakistani goods to China," he added.

Zhao Lijian said that China and Pakistan are all weather strategic cooperative partners and ironclad brothers.

"We stand ready to enhance trade and economic cooperation with Pakistan and support more exports of Pakistani special goods so as to promote the high quality development of our trade cooperation and bring more benefits to both peoples," he added.

According to official data from the General Administration of Customs of China, Pakistan export to China was increased by 68.9% in 2021 and crossed the historical figure of $3.58 billion while the total import and export between the two countries stood at $27.82 billion.

Pakistan's export to China crossed $365.35 million in December 2021, up 17 percent, while in the same period of the previous year, it was $312.33 million, which is the second-highest figure of the year.

Pakistan's exports made the highest gain in November 2021 when its export volume to China was $379.17 million. Last year, the highest value was in December 2020 when its export volume was $312.33 million.


Overall, from January to December 2021, China's imports from Pakistan totalled $3.
58 billion irrespective of COVID-19, while in the same period of last year it was $2.12 billion.
This year China's export to Pakistan was increased by 57.8% to $24.23 billion, while last year it was $15.36 billion and in 2019 it was $16.17 billion.

In his tweet, Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan, Nong Ron said, during the last year, the bilateral trade between China and Pakistan bucked the trend of decline in the global trade in spite of the Covid-19 pandemic, and the export from Pakistan to China soared to US$ 3.59, registered a year-on-year increase of 68.9%.
As per economic experts, the recent upward trend in exports to China is encouraging for both the countries governments and enterprises.

Multiple factors have contributed to this remarkable rise. Under the first phase of the FTA, Pakistan had been already enjoying zero duties on exports of over 700 products to China. While the second phase of the pact allowed Pakistan to export 313 new items to the Chinese market on zero duty.

In addition, the construction of special economic zones has also helped Pakistan export goods to other countries including China.
Shan Saeed, Chief Economist at Juwai IQI told media that trade between the two countries has made significant progress as both export and import volumes are on the rise. This is a testament of Chin's commitment to BRI projects with CPEC under the limelight.
The trade and commerce volumes signify that China wants to provide unconditional support and import more from Pakistan in order to uplift the economy of Pakistan.

Shan described that China will continue to support Pakistan for a very long time to come and Pakistan values Chinese unconditional support.

It is worth mentioning that among the major products traded between the two countries, electronics, textiles, seafood, and agricultural products have been increased year-on-year, which has promoted Pakistan's economic recovery.


https://defence.pk/pdf/javascript:void(0)
 
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previous FY- over 500$ billion worth of e-banking transactions took place, more than our GDP of 370$ Billion
With a growth rate of 30% in e-banking transactions
190 million mobile subscribers and 80 million people with bank accounts

He is saying there's still a lot of potential and ground to cover as there are 100 million people with mobile phones and no bank account
POS machines increased by 50% before RAAST
 
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Pakistan issues emergency tenders for two spot LNG cargoes for March​

By Khalid Mustafa
February 19, 2022

Pakistan issues emergency tenders for two spot LNG cargoes for March


ISLAMABAD:
After the term-suppliers---ENI and GUNVOR cancelled their LNG cargoes scheduled for delivery next month, Pakistan LNG Limited (PLL) on Friday issued an emergency tender seeking spot procurement of two LNG vessels for March.

The backing out of ENI and GUNVOR has forced Pakistan LNG Limited (PLL) to purchase the costly LNG from the spot market where the price is currently hovering at $23-25 per MMBTU which is quite high. According to the relevant authorities, PLL has sought bids from the international LNG trading companies for spot procurement of two LNG cargoes for delivery on March 2-3 and March 10-11.

Now it will be highly interesting to observe if ENI and GUNVOR, which defaulted from delivery, will participate in the bids for spot LNG procurement or not. However, the official said that the government, which would now use a gas pricing mechanism based on Weighted Average Cost of Gas (WACOG), is at ease for procuring LNG from the spot market even at higher prices. Under WACOG, the imported LNG will be merged with the local gas and their average price will be paid by the consumers.

The News in its edition of February 17 reported that Italy-based ENI and Singapore-based GUNVOR, had cancelled their term LNG cargoes scheduled for delivery in the first and second week of March 2022 respectively. Orlandi Benedetta, spokesman of ENI while confirming the cancellation told The News that ENI is suffering disruptions in the LNG supply chain due to default by a third-party supplier. The ENI is evaluating all contractual remedies, including legal actions, to preserve its rights. The Ministry of Energy official said "this is the fourth time when ENI has backed out of delivering the term LNG cargo. However, GUNVOR will default for the second time as after earlier default in November 2021.” GUNVOR sought to invoke the force majeure clause at both times to avoid the penalty which is just 30 per cent of term cargo.

Pakistan LNG Limited (PLL) and GUNVOR inked a 5-year contract in June 2017 under which GUNVOR is bound to provide the LNG term cargo at 11.6247 per cent of the Brent. This accord will end in July 2022. Similarly, PLL entered a 15-year contract with ENI in December 2017 to provide LNG cargo at 12.14 per cent of the Brent, till 2032.

Under the agreements, if LNG trading companies commit default, PLL can only impose a penalty of 30 per cent of the term cargo price. But the PLL is bound to pay 100 per cent price of the term cargo undertake or pay agreement if Pakistan, for any reason, cannot absorb the cargo in its system. In the wake of the flawed agreement, both the LNG trading companies never hesitate to default as they are ready to pay the low penalty while making windfall profits by selling the term cargo in the market.

 
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Pakistan issues emergency tenders for two spot LNG cargoes for March​

By Khalid Mustafa
February 19, 2022

Pakistan issues emergency tenders for two spot LNG cargoes for March


ISLAMABAD: After the term-suppliers---ENI and GUNVOR cancelled their LNG cargoes scheduled for delivery next month, Pakistan LNG Limited (PLL) on Friday issued an emergency tender seeking spot procurement of two LNG vessels for March.

The backing out of ENI and GUNVOR has forced Pakistan LNG Limited (PLL) to purchase the costly LNG from the spot market where the price is currently hovering at $23-25 per MMBTU which is quite high. According to the relevant authorities, PLL has sought bids from the international LNG trading companies for spot procurement of two LNG cargoes for delivery on March 2-3 and March 10-11.

Now it will be highly interesting to observe if ENI and GUNVOR, which defaulted from delivery, will participate in the bids for spot LNG procurement or not. However, the official said that the government, which would now use a gas pricing mechanism based on Weighted Average Cost of Gas (WACOG), is at ease for procuring LNG from the spot market even at higher prices. Under WACOG, the imported LNG will be merged with the local gas and their average price will be paid by the consumers.

The News in its edition of February 17 reported that Italy-based ENI and Singapore-based GUNVOR, had cancelled their term LNG cargoes scheduled for delivery in the first and second week of March 2022 respectively. Orlandi Benedetta, spokesman of ENI while confirming the cancellation told The News that ENI is suffering disruptions in the LNG supply chain due to default by a third-party supplier. The ENI is evaluating all contractual remedies, including legal actions, to preserve its rights. The Ministry of Energy official said "this is the fourth time when ENI has backed out of delivering the term LNG cargo. However, GUNVOR will default for the second time as after earlier default in November 2021.” GUNVOR sought to invoke the force majeure clause at both times to avoid the penalty which is just 30 per cent of term cargo.

Pakistan LNG Limited (PLL) and GUNVOR inked a 5-year contract in June 2017 under which GUNVOR is bound to provide the LNG term cargo at 11.6247 per cent of the Brent. This accord will end in July 2022. Similarly, PLL entered a 15-year contract with ENI in December 2017 to provide LNG cargo at 12.14 per cent of the Brent, till 2032.

Under the agreements, if LNG trading companies commit default, PLL can only impose a penalty of 30 per cent of the term cargo price. But the PLL is bound to pay 100 per cent price of the term cargo undertake or pay agreement if Pakistan, for any reason, cannot absorb the cargo in its system. In the wake of the flawed agreement, both the LNG trading companies never hesitate to default as they are ready to pay the low penalty while making windfall profits by selling the term cargo in the market.


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17% growth in remittances good: ICCI

Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: President Islamabad Chamber of Commerce Zahid Maqbool said the country has witnessed an impressive growth of more than 17 percent in remittances, which have reached to about $5.79 billion during July-Feb 2010 and the government should take measures to channelise these remittances towards the long-term investment for achieving better results for the country. He said Small & Medium Entrepreneur (SME) sector is the engine of growth for Pakistan and one good option for the government is to motivate the returning migrants to set up small and medium size businesses, which will help in boosting SME sector. For this purpose, the government should provide them fiscal incentives like tax breaks and other concessions. staff report
It is now 22 billion usd from Jul to Feb fy2022 wow......
 
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Hi how are everyone is doing? today we got some good news from IK related to reko diq, I want to know how much it’ll benefit pakistan i mean how much Pakistan will earn per year? from the mine? and how much it’ll affect our GDP? Can anyone tell me how much our GDP will be in 2 years? Can we reach 1 trillion dollars? And does that increases the minimum wage every year? Thanks
 
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