Remittance dependence in a changing world

Export of manpower has brought it the welcome buoy of remittances that supports it balance of payments. Ramazan led the quantum of remittances to increase to nearly $3bn in March, its highest level since April 2022 and more than twice the amount of Pakistan’s top export of textiles. However, changes in host countries of the bulk of Pakistan’s immigrants have not been kind in recent years. Take Saudi Arabia’s futuristic $500bn Neom City project, for instance. Media reports suggested that Pakistan would have provided a workforce for it; there were some plans for a special quota for skilled and semi-skilled workers and a proposal for a local state-of-the-art skill university to train them. But the project has been massively scaled back. Citing sources, Bloomberg reports that only 2.4km of the 170km city is to be completed by 2030.