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Thursday, 19 January, 2023 I 26 Jamadi us Sani, 1444 Pakistan to export cement worth $360m to US first time
Karachiites set to receive over Rs12bn relief in February electricity bills
Imran Khan foresees general elections in April this year
Hamza Shehbaz proposes committee members’ names for caretaker CM
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Rs 15.00 | Vol XIII No 201 I 12 Pages I Islamabad Edition
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as IGC beGIns, RussIa offeRs to help pakIstan meet eneRGy needs g
tHRee-day pak-RUssia Moot aiMs to pRoMote bilateRal coopeRation
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ahmad ahmadani
t a high powered meeting between Russian delegations and officials from pakistan, Russia has extended its hand to pakistan and offered their aid in fulfilling pakistan’s energy needs. the offer was made during the first day of the eighth meeting of the pakistani-Russian inter-governmental commission (igc) on trade, economic, scientific and technical cooperation taking place in islamabad this week. the meeting commenced in islamabad on Wednesday wherein both sides reviewed the existing areas of cooperation and deliberated on new proposals for cooperation. according to sources, on the first day of the pak-Russia igc meeting, experts of both sides reviewed previous decisions which were made so far between the two countries and also deliberated on new proposals for further deepening the bilateral relations while areas of mutual cooperation like trade and investment; agriculture; energy; industry; education; science and technology; information and communication technologies; finance, customs and communication including roads, postal service and railways remained under discussion between the two countries. during the first day of the technical session of the 8th pak-Russia igc, the Russian side was headed by deputy director of the department of Ministry of economic development of the
Russian federation, israfil ali-Zade while secretary Ministry of economic affairs, dr kazim niaz led the pakistani side. a Russian delegation, comprising around eighty (80) members, is participating in the meeting, said sources. speaking at the opening session of the meeting, secretary Ministry of economic affairs, dr kazim niaz said that huge potential existed there to benefit from the comparative advantage between pakistan and Russia. He said pakistan got a big hit due to devastating floods and appreciated the support extended by the international community during such times of crisis. speaking on the occasion, deputy director of the department of Ministry of economic development of the Russian federation, israfil aliZade said Russia valued its relations with pakistan. He said in all sectors of economy, there was a good level of cooperation and Russia aimed to enhance it further. He said there was a great potential between both economies that needed to be explored more. during the technical session, the Russian side offered to supply oil and gas to pakistan at discounted rates and assured that Russia can fulfil pakistan’s energy needs, said sources. they added that the pakistani side provided data pertaining to the country’s oil and gas demand while the Russian side offered prices and quantity of oil and gas and both sides agreed to devise a final working paper in this regard. “the proposals coming out of these technical sessions would be incorporated into the
main protocol of the commission, which would be discussed, conformed and signed during the plenary session on third day of the session”, said the sources sources also said that the Wednesday igc meeting also discussed payments and shipping modes and mechanisms while technical information of both sides on oil and gas will be the part of agenda of thursday’s scheduled meeting of the igc. they said ministerial level talks between pakistan and Russia will be held on thursday and a major breakthrough on oil, gas supply from Russia and long-term lng agreement and construction of north-south gasline project is expected to be achieved during this meeting. they said pakistani Ministers including ayaz sadiq and Musadik Malik will represent the pakistani side while Russian energy Minister nikolay shulginov will represent the Russian side in the ministerial level talks between the two countries. during thursday’s ministerial level talks, import of Russian crude oil, petrol and high-speed diesel (Hsd) will also be the part of agenda, said sources. it is also learnt from sources that both sides on Wednesday exchanged facts and figures pertaining to different sectors wherein mutual cooperation can be beneficial for each other while prices of oil and gas import from Russia also remained under discussion. similarly, preparation of a roadmap for import of oil and gas from Russia on a short-term and long-term basis was also discussed in the meeting, said sources. as per sources, on second of 8th igc, the two sides are scheduled to hold technical consultations on finalizing the ‘draft protocol’ of the ongoing 8th igc while on friday, there would be main discussion on the implementation of the gas pipeline construction project titled “the pakistan stream gas pipeline (psgp),” oil and petroleum products delivery to pakistan, Russian-pakistani financial cooperation, implementation of the decisions and recommendations of the seventh meeting of the commission, besides cooperation in different sectors before signing of the final protocol of the 8th meeting of the commission. it is pertinent to mention here that 8th igc is expected to find ways and means to promote pak- Russia cooperation in diverse fields like trade and investment, agriculture, energy, industry, education, science and technology, information and communication technologies, roads, postal services and railways, finance and customs.
UAE rolls over $2b deposit of Pakistan iSLAMABAD staff report
the abu dhabi fund for development (adfd) has rolled over their deposit of $2 billion with the state bank of pakistan (sbp). the finance minister in a tweet disclosed that prime Minister shehbaz sharif had discussed the rollover with the United arab emirates (Uae) president sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-nahyan, during his recent visit to the country. it is pertinent to mention here that the Uae president had agreed to roll over the existing loan of $2 billion and provide a $1 billion additional loan. sources said that pakistan’s repayment burden has now reduced to $11 billion during this fiscal year. presently, the state bank has foreign exchange reserves of four and a half billion dollars and these foreign exchange reserves with the central bank are equivalent to three weeks’ worth of import bills. it is pertinent to mention here that prime Minister shehbaz sharif met with Uae president sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed al nahyan on January 12 wherein the latter agreed to roll over the existing loan of Us$ 2 billion and provide Us$1 billion additional loan. the two leaders also agreed to deepen the investment cooperation, stimulate partnerships and enable investment integration opportunities between the two countries. sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed welcomed prime Minister sharif to abu dhabi and wished progress and prosperity for pakistan. He praised the historical relations between the two nations and the valuable contributions made by the pakistani community in the Uae. the prime minister thanked the Uae president for inviting him to the brotherly country. the two leaders discussed the fraternal relations existing between pakistan and the Uae; and explored ways and means to further strengthen these ties, especially in the fields of trade, investment and energy. LCS FOR FUEL, MEDICINE AND AGRICULTURE SECTORS IMPORTS: state bank of pakistan (sbp) governor Jameel ahmad on Wednesday said that the import letter of credit (lcs) for fuel, medicine and agriculture sectors are being opened at the interbank rate.
World Bank steps back from $1.1b loan approval g
Widening fiscal gap by $1.5b, Wb postpones tWo loans to pakistan Profit rePort
the World bank (Wb) deepens the fiscal crisis by delaying the approval of two loans worth $ 1.1 billion until the next financial year, according to news reports on Wednesday. the bank also opposed the 1%-3% flood levy on imports to fulfil the financing gap of $ 32 billion. the lender jolted the approval of the second Resilient institutions for sustainable economy (Rise-ii) loan worth $450 million and the second programme for affordable energy (pace-ii) worth $ 600 million. the Rise programme hopes to achieve “fiscal management, promote transparency and private sector growth,
and undertake foundational reforms in the energy sector to transition to lowcarbon energy,” and the pace programme sets to “reduce circular debt flow through reducing power generation costs, decarbonising the energy mix, improving efficiency in distribution, and retargeting electricity subsidies,” according to the Wb website. both programmes indicate reforms in the energy sectors, and the Wb believes that macroeconomic challenges cannot be met unless energy costs are cut. this includes reducing generation costs, creating avenues for solar energy and cutting subsidies in the energy sector. the government had hoped to re-
ceive the approval of at least $ 450 million by January 2023, which would have unlocked a further $ 450 million loan by the asian infrastructure investment bank (aiib). the government was already facing difficulty securing a financing loan from the international Monetary fund (iMf), and with such a blow by the Wb the government is left with an additional $ 1.5 billion hole. according to sources, the Wb expressed its grievances regarding 1%-3% flood levy on imports to raise Rs 60 billion to Rs 70 billion in additional taxes to cover imports. the flood levy is part of the Rs 200 billion budget that the government set to appease the iMf bailout.