Stop sending economy to ICU, says commerce minister

Pakistan needs to end this practice of sending its economy to the intensive care unit (ICU) for resurrection, says Commerce Minister Syed Naveed Qamar. The minister made this statement at a news conference on Friday, at the end of a three-day visit to Washington during which he also represented Pakistan at the official trade and investment conference. “We need to end this cycle of taking loans to repay loans. We need to increase our foreign exchange reserves. We need to control the budget deficit,” Mr Qamar said. “We need to enhance trade and encourage investment.” Acknowledging that the national economy was passing through a very difficult phase, the minister said: “We need to end this practice of sending our economy to the ICU every now and then.” The US and Pakistan held the 9th meeting of their Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) Council on Thursday. A joint statement issued after the talks said that both sides were seeking to optimise their trade and economic ties. The two sides also recognised the importance of agricultural and digital trade to the US-Pakistan economic relationship and agreed to intensify engagement in these areas in advance of the next TIFA Council meeting in 2024. The 9th session of TIFA talks was held after almost eight years. “These were supposed to be annual meetings, but for one reason or another, they have been on the back burner for so long. Now that we are starting, there are many areas where we expect some breakthroughs, and that is on both sides,” the minister said. “Now that we have resumed the talks, we hope to continue moving ahead.”