PM aide seeks continued loss assessment

Says development partners should help Pakistan to devise swift response

ISLAMABAD: International development partners and government agencies should continue to evaluate the losses suffered by Pakistan’s economy due to Covid-19 to help the government devise a swift and robust policy response, said Adviser to Prime Minister on Finance Abdul Hafeez Shaikh.

He was chairing a meeting held on Friday to evaluate the economic losses suffered by Pakistan on account of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Shaikh appreciated efforts of the Planning Commission, State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and development partners in assessing and evaluating the losses suffered by the economy.

“Government announced a Rs1.2-trillion stimulus package to not only assist businesses but also poorest segments of our population to alleviate their miseries and sufferings,” he remarked.

SBP Governor Reza Baqir, who attended the meeting through video conference, presented a detailed analysis of the central bank’s policy response to the economic impact of Covid-19.

Also present in the meeting was Asian Development Bank Country Director for Pakistan Xiaohong Yang, who gave a detailed presentation on the economic losses suffered by Asian countries in general and Pakistan in particular in the wake of coronavirus.

The data presented by the ADB country director showed promising signs of recovery in Pakistan’s economy post-Covid-19.

United Nations Resident Humanitarian Coordinator in Pakistan Julien Harneis and World Bank Country Director Patchamuthu Illangovan also provided similar data and projections in the meeting.

Planning Commission member Asif Saeed unveiled a detailed report prepared on instructions of the government to cover the losses suffered by the economy in the wake of the pandemic.

The meeting was also attended by Minister for Industries and Production Hammad Azhar, Adviser to Prime Minister on Commerce and Investment Abdul Razak Dawood and senior officials of the Finance Division.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 6^th, 2020.

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