ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday welcomed the decision of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) to cut the policy rate by 2%, lowering it from 19.5% to 17.5%.
He said that this move would boost exports, investment, agriculture, business and overall economic growth in the country.
He was presiding over a meeting of the federal cabinet committee in Islamabad. The prime minister expressed hope that the policy rate could decrease gradually to single digits, in line with the country’s inflation rate.
Speaking on the ongoing talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), he added that the negotiations were smoothly progressing.
He further said that, as in the past, friendly countries had once again committed to assisting Pakistan during this challenging time. The prime minister said with these developments, Pakistan has now met the prerequisites to secure loans from the IMF.
“Our friendly and brotherly countries have come all the way to support us again,” he said.
He thanked the Ministry of Finance, other relevant departments and the ambassador of Pakistan to China who played a vital role in getting support from the brotherly nations.
The prime minister added that after achieving the goal of macroeconomic stability, the government will now take steps to boost the GDP growth of the country.
As regards Israel’s continued atrocities on Palestinians, the prime minister demanded the international community to stop Israel from committing war crimes in Palestine.
Strongly condemning Israel’s barbarism, the prime minister noted the Israeli forces today had killed six staff members of a United Nations relief mission in Palestine while it also killed 17 more people in Gaza.
