ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will cut taxes on imports of raw materials to spur manufacturing and overall economic growth, Bloomberg quoted Prime Minister Imran Khan’s trade adviser as saying on Monday.
Customs duties on input items needed by pharmaceutical, chemical, engineering and food processing industries will be reduced by 3 percent to 10 percent, Abdul Razzak Dawood, Khan’s adviser on commerce, said in an interview to Bloomberg.
“That will help lower the import of finished goods, encourage local production and put the nation in a position to boost exports,” he said. “Pakistan had ridiculously high duties. The objective is to put Pakistan on par with other countries on trade taxes.”
Bloomberg said the proposal would be part of the federal government’s annual budget for the year starting July 1, by when it targets to achieve a growth rate of 4.8 percent. The nation forecast growth to be 3.9 percent this year after a rare contraction last year. The new budget is scheduled to be presented in the lower house of the parliament on June 11.
“Paring import taxes will be a huge policy shift for Pakistan, given more than 40 percent of its total tax revenue is generated from levies on inbound shipments,” Bloomberg said. “Khan’s government is seeking to end the nation’s reliance in recent years on foreign loans and bailouts, and instead boost industrial productivity and the share of exports in the economy.”
To that end, the administration will extend concessional long-term financing for exports and working capital financing to businesses in the next fiscal year, Dawood told the American publication.
The nation’s exports haven’t grown significantly in the past decade, averaging $23 billion annually. For the next financial year, the government hopes it will be higher than $25 billion.
Pakistan to cut taxes on imports of raw materials to boost growth
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Pakistan to cut taxes on imports of raw materials to boost growth
- Customs duties on input items needed by pharmaceutical, chemical, engineering, food processing industries to be reduced by 3 percent to 10 percent
- Proposal to be part of federal government’s annual budget for year starting July 1 by when it targets to achieve growth rate of 4.8 percent
Saudi defense delegation visits Pakistan’s foreign office for diplomatic briefing
- Delegation briefed on Pakistan’s foreign policy priorities and bilateral ties with Saudi Arabia
- Visit reflects close defense cooperation, including a bilateral security pact signed last year
ISLAMABAD: A Saudi defense delegation visited Pakistan’s foreign ministry on Friday to learn about Islamabad’s diplomatic priorities and engagements as the two countries strengthen security collaboration and consult more closely on regional and international issues.
The visit comes amid sustained high-level engagement between Islamabad and Riyadh, with regular contacts spanning defense, diplomacy and economic cooperation.
A 15-member delegation from the King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz Command and Staff College met officials at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said an official statement.
“The visit of the delegation to Pakistan is a manifestation of excellent defense and security relations between the two countries,” the foreign ministry said.
It added that officials briefed the delegation on Pakistan’s foreign policy issues and bilateral relations with Saudi Arabia, followed by an interactive session.
The head of the delegation thanked Pakistani authorities for facilitating the visit, the statement said.
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia maintain close defense and security cooperation, including training exchanges and joint exercises.
In September last year, the two countries signed a bilateral security agreement under which aggression against one would be treated as a threat to the other.
While Saudi diplomats are regular visitors to the Pakistani foreign ministry, such visits by defense delegations are rare, reflecting that the two sides seek to understand each other’s defense and diplomatic perspectives more closely.
