ISLAMABAD: Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan said on Tuesday that despite the coronavirus pandemic, there was “great news” on the nation’s economy.
Emerging markets and low-income countries have faced a precarious situation with weak health systems, high external debt and dependency on sectors most exposed to the pandemic such as tourism and commodities.
“Despite Covid-19 great news on economy — remarkable turnaround,” Khan said in a tweet, adding that the current account surplus in November was $447 million.
For the fiscal year so far, the PM said, the surplus was $1.6 billion as opposed to a deficit of $1.7 billion in the same period last year. The central bank’s forex reserves had risen to about $13 billion, the highest in three years, he added.
Larger-than-expected remittances from migrants overseas have provided a tonic for several sickly economies like Pakistan during the coronavirus crisis, but the outlook for such flows remains fraught with uncertainty even as vaccines are rolled out, analysts have said.
Mexico, El Salvador, Kenya, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Philippines and Sri Lanka are among those enjoying resurgent flows in recent months, helping them narrow current account gaps, stabilize currencies and meet any overseas debt payments. Such countries have led a surprise recovery in remittances in the second half of 2020, as the slowdown in flows amid the pandemic proved less severe than initially feared.
