KARACHI: Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) President Mian Anjum Nisar said overseas Pakistan can play a pivotal role in boosting national economy through their remittances and investments and for that they must be extended more incentives.

In a press statement on Saturday, he said the inflow of remittances has slowed down in August from the record high of previous two months though remaining strong at over $2 billion.

The Pakistan Remittances Initiative (PRI) has started giving results following the reopening of businesses in Europe, the US and the Middle East, leading to improvement in remittances for the third consecutive month from June to August, the FPCCI chief said.

He said foreign remittances flows are the only hope which can support the current account balance, as the GDP growth is expected to decelerate in FY21 amidst low volumes of foreign direct investment declining trend of exports which have dipped by almost 20pc in August. He was of the view that high workers’ remittances in June-August had been received on the back of temporary factors, including the impact of lockdown restrictions on transferring funds.

Overseas Pakistanis continued to send money through formal banking channels in absence of parallel illegal channels like Hundi and Hawala and temporary suspension of international flights amidst Covid-19, he said.

He noted that structural reforms can revive economic growth with major focus on incentives for Pakistani expatriates and industrialisation.

Published in Dawn, September 27th, 2020