News
Monday, August 19, 2013
Dar lauds PRI’s performanceKARACHI: Finance Minister (FM) Mohammad Ishaq Dar chaired a meeting at the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) to review the performance of the Pakistan Remittance Initiative (PRI) on Sunday. SBP Governor Yaseen Anwar was also present in the meeting.
The PRI team led by Exchange Policy Director Mohammad Mansoor Ali and head of PRI Mr Moinuddin gave a presentation to the FM on the efforts made by the PRI and the SBP, for facilitating overseas Pakistanis in the speedy, reliable, safe and free of charge transfer of home remittances to Pakistan, as well as facilitating their quick recieval in the country.
The FM appreciated the ongoing facilitation work for the transfers of home remittances and the efforts to increase the inflow of foreign exchange in the country.
He expressed satisfaction over the record inflow of $1.40 billion in July 2013 alone. The SBP and PRI team proposed various technical innovations that would ensure instant transfer of remittance into the accounts of beneficiaries, with the facility of withdrawals from ATMs anywhere in the country.
The FM welcomed the fact that remittances were increasingly being banked and approved in principle the new initiatives proposed by the PRI in order to further increase remittances through the formal channels. He said that there was a need for innovative, out-of-the box solutions to support continued robust growth in remittances, which would augment the efforts to build the country’s foreign exchange reserves.
He further said that the PRI team should continue to make efforts so that the country could not only achieve its present targets but also improve upon them substantially. He said that remittances were important for supporting the balance of payments. He went on to say that there was a need to ensure a growth in remittances in order to support Pakistan’s economy. pr
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk