PESHAWAR, Jun 30 (APP):Economics and diplomatic experts here Friday welcomed the reaching of an agreement between Pakistan and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that would significantly help strengthen the national economy and attract foreign investment.
Professor Dr Muhammad Naeem of the Swabi University told APP that the staff-level nine months stand by agreement (SBA) of around USD 3 billion was a landmark development that would give an upward positive push to the economy of Pakistan besides tackling an issue of balance of payments and foreign loans burden.
He said the new agreement would not only help in the stabilization of the economy from recent external shocks but would also preserve macroeconomic stability and provide a framework for financing from multilateral and bilateral partners.
Dr Naeem said the value of the rupee against the dollar would improve and infant industries would grow in Pakistan.
Former Ambassador, Manzoor ul Haq also hailed the agreement and declared it significant.
Talking to APP, he said the agreement would encourage international monetary institutions to invest in Pakistan in diverse fields besides creating space for social and development spending through improved domestic revenue mobilization.
Yousaf Sarwar, former President of the Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) termed the Pakistan-IMF agreement as a positive development in the wake of economic issues of the former.
He said this would definitely increase the confidence of businessmen, commercial markets and investors besides accelerating the pace of economic and industrial development.
He said the bilateral and multilateral donors would now speed up dealings with Pakistan.
He said, “The agreement will ensure overall stability and bring down inflation and price in the country.”
PML-N spokesman in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Ikhtair Wali said that Prime Minister (PM) Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif and Finance Minister Ishaq Dar deserved full credit and appreciation for the agreement.