Rejoinder: Borrowing a routine function, says ministry

The Ministry of Finance has clarified news stories titled “Pakistan pays $4.8b in external debt” and “Foreign loans in 2016-17 recorded at historic high” published in The Express Tribune. The ministry says Pakistan’s key economic fundamentals continue to remain strong as reflected in GDP growth of 5.3% last year - the highest in a decade, almost elimination of energy shortages and increased inflows on account of CPEC and other investments for energy and infrastructure sectors. “External borrowing is a routine and normal function of developing countries and Pakistan is no exception. Developing economies resort to borrowing to meet investment requirements, accelerate growth and for job creation,” it says. “External borrowing is also necessitated to retire past debt, finance essential imports, build external buffers and shore up external reserves to maintain external account sustainability in a global context.”

Published in The Express Tribune, July 25^th, 2017.

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