Day: December 23, 2021

Chairman Senate Muhammad Sadiq Sanjrani in his meeting with the Chairman of Shura Council of Saudi Arabia on Thursday urged the Saudi businessmen to take advantage of the investment-friendly opportunities in Pakistan.

A high-profile parliamentary delegation of Saudi Arabia, led by the Chairman of Shura Council of the Kingdom, Dr Abdullah Mohammad Bin Sheikh met with Chairman Senate Muhammad Sadiq Sanjrani in Islamabad. Chairman Senate was accompanied by Senators Naseebullah Bazai, Hafiz Abdul Karim, Faiz Muhammad, Faisal Saleem and Secretary Senate Muhammad Qasim Samad Khan.

Chairman Senate stressed the need to further enhance the trade volume between the two countries. The environment for investment in Pakistan is safe and conducive which could benefit Saudi investors, he added.

During the meeting, both sides reiterated their desire to take the existing relations to new heights in all areas of mutual interest and underlined the need to further strengthen parliamentary cooperation between the two brotherly countries.

The Chairman Senate apprised the delegation of the situation in Afghanistan and the steps being taken to help the Afghan people. He thanked Saudi Arabia for support in convening the 17th Extraordinary Session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan.

“Saudi Arabia’s unflinching support for Pakistan in its difficult and testing time is commendable”, said Sanjrani. He also extended best wishes to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and Prince Muhammad bin Salman.

“Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and Saudi people have heartfelt sympathy for Pakistan. Relations between the two countries had been further boosted by the exchange of delegations between the two fraternal countries”, noted Chairman Shura Council of Saudi Arabia.

Chairman Senate also exalted the effective role of Saudi Arabia in uniting the Islamic world. Apart from the Pakistani government, its people also want to maintain good relations with the Kingdom, he remarked.

The chairman of the Shura Council of Saudi Arabia also extended an invitation to the chairman Senate to attend the inaugural ceremony of the new parliamentary year of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia which he accepted.

The Chairman Senate also appreciated the sincere efforts of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and Prince Muhammad Bin Salman for enriching relations with Qatar and other neighboring countries.

Source: Pro Pakistani

The foreign reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) fell week-over-week by $415 million (2.2 percent) to $18.15 billion, mainly due to external debt repayments.

According to the data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the foreign exchange reserves decreased to $18.15 billion in the week.

The total liquid foreign reserves held by the country stood at $24.63 billion, down by $395 million, as of 17 December 2021. During the week, the foreign exchange reserves of commercial banks stood at $6.47 billion.

In retrospect, the Pakistani Rupee is struggling to stay resolute against the US dollar. Although the local unit managed to halt the exchange spillover as various economic indicators consolidated in the past 24 hours, the weight of expectations suggests that pressure will persist for the next few months due to little movement in commodity prices.

Moreover, if the current account deficit remains between the $1.5-2 billion bracket during the period in question, the exchange rate could go through more hoops of fire, and so will the reserves held with the central bank.

Historically, SBP’s reserves soared to a record high of $20.15 billion in August after the International Monetary Fund directed Special Drawing Rights worth $2,751.8 million to the former. However, the SBP’s reserves began to decline steadily during the same month, which it attributed to the fulfillment of debt repayments and other related regulations.

Source: Pro Pakistani