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Wang Yi to attend China-South Asia Expo opening ceremony in Kunming

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BEIJING, Aug 15 (APP):: China’s Foreign Minister, Wang Yi will attend the opening ceremony of the 7th China-South Asia Exposition scheduled to be held in Kunming, Yunnan province of China from Wednesday.

With the theme of “Solidarity and Coordination for Common Development”, the expo will continue till August 20, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said on Tuesday.

The exhibitors from Pakistan and other countries will display clothing, money clips and leather hats, etc in the expo.
Over 60 countries and regions have signed up for the expo, including all South Asian and Southeast Asian countries and RCEP member states.

Around 1,000 enterprises signed up to participate in the exhibition, among which 50 are of the global 500 companies.

The expo of this year has 15 pavilions with an exhibition area of 150,000 square meters, Li Chenyang, director of the Department of Commerce of Yunnan Province, China.

“This year, we will focus on inviting more professional visitors according to the different needs of exhibitors.

We will also help exhibitors match target buyers precisely so that more exhibits can be turned into commodities,” Li Fei, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Commerce of China recently revealed the highlights of this year’s expo.

“We will also fully adapt digital platforms to provide ‘one-stop’ services for exhibitors of the expo. Exhibitors and visitors who cannot attend the event in person can participate, negotiate and purchase online.”

China-South Asia Expo has been successfully held six times and has gradually developed into an increasingly influential platform integrating trade, economic communication, commodity display, investment cooperation and e-commerce.

“In 2013, when the first China-South Asia Expo was held, the total trade volume between China and South Asian countries was less than $100 billion, the number increased to $200 billion last year, representing an average annual increase of 8.3 percent,”Li Fei said.

“China is also the largest trading partner of Pakistan, Bangladesh, Maldives and other South Asian countries. Exports of aquatic products, tea and nuts from those countries to China keep increasing and gaining popularity among Chinese consumers,” he added.

Li also stressed the efforts that China has made in synergizing the Belt and Road Initiative with the development of South Asian countries especially mentioning its iron brother, Pakistan.

“The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) has brought investment of $25.4 billion to Pakistan, created 192,000 jobs, added 6,000 megawatts of electricity, 510 kilometers of highways and 886 kilometers of the national core transmission grid.”

Cars’ sale drops 64% in July

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ISLAMABAD, Aug 15 (APP): The sale of cars during the first month of the current financial year 2023-24 has dropped by 64.32 percent as compared to the same month of last year, a recent data released by Pakistan Automobile Manufacturing Association (PAMA) said.

According to the data, as many as 3,702 cars were sold during the month under review as opposed to 10,378 units in the same month of last year.

The breakup figures showed that 208 units of Honda Civic and City were sold during the corresponding month of the year 2023-24 as compared to the sale of 2,408 units last year.

Toyota Corolla and Yaris cars sales also decreased by 38.46 percent as it went down to 1,067 units from 1,734 units in July of the previous year.

Suzuki Swift’s sales also decreased by 22.42 percent as its sale went down to 249 units from 321 units last year.

Sale of Suzuki Cultus declined to 177 units during the first month of the current year, whereas during the same month last year, the sale was recorded at 661 units while the sale of Suzuki WagonR also decreased to 245 units from 282 units last year.

Suzuki Alto’s sales also witnessed a sharp decline of 68.81 percent from 4,618 units to 1,440 units during the current year, whereas the sale of Suzuki Bolan decreased to 146 units as opposed to sales of 353 units in the same month of last year.

GB Governor calls on Caretaker PM Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar

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ISLAMABAD, Aug 15 (APP):Governor Gilgit Baltistan Syed Mehdi Shah called on Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar on here Tuesday and congratulated him on assuming the charge of Caretaker PM.

Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar thanked the GB Governor on extending best wishes to him.

The GB Governor said selection of a caretaker prime minister from Balochistan province would strengthen the federation of Pakistan.

He invited Caretaker PM Kakar to visit GB and address the Gilgit Baltistan Assembly.

He also briefed him about the ongoing development projects including the infrastructure projects, and progress on Karakoram University. He also invited him to inaugurate the projects to be completed in near future.

Railways spends Rs.1862 mln for rehabilitation of track between Kotri-Khanpur

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ISLAMABAD, Aug 15 (APP): Pakistan Railways is spending Rs.1862.84 million for the rehabilitation of 518 kilometres of track between Kotri-Khanpur under the project of Immediate Track Safety Works (ITSW-I).

Despite financial constraints, the management of Pakistan Railways is putting maximum efforts into improvement in infrastructure including tracks, bridges, stations etc, an official in the Ministry of Railways told APP.

Under the project of rehabilitation of Karachi Port tracks, 24-kilometre tracks, 17 level crossings and seven bridges have been rehabilitated along with the replacement of turnouts.

The official said that Railway Dry Ports at Lahore (Mughalpura), Badami Bagh and Azakhel have been upgraded.

He said under the Immediate Track Safety Works (ITS W-II & IMTS W-III), the railway track between Tando Adam-Khanpur covering 456 kilometres would be rehabilitated at a cost of Rs. 4830.437 million and Rs.4875.461 million respectively by replacing the US components of the track by ensuring the safety of train operation.

A PC-I amounting to Rs.4930.22 million for the rehabilitation of track machinery has been approved which would ensure quality of track maintenance work.

Meanwhile, 11 stations have been upgraded including Peshawar, Hassan Abdal, Rawalpindi, Gujranwala, Lahore, Narowal, Nankana Sahib, Raiwind, Okara, Sahiwal, and Bahawalpur, under PSDP projects.

The project of upgradation of Main Line-I at a cost of $6.683 billion has been negotiated with the Chinese side for completing the ML-1 in two phases consisting of four packages, he added.

About the assets of Pakistan Railways are mainly related to the track (11881 kilometres), rolling stock (15699) etc and most of these assets have lived their useful life.

Therefore, he said the department has taken several measures for efficient maintenance of these assets which included an increase in fiscal space for maintenance through transfer of pension, reduce utility bills through solarization, improving procurement management through prioritized procurement and an efficient fuel management system.

He said the department is gradually shifting from manual to a mechanized track maintenance regime for enhanced productivity and quality while improved governance of the maintenance system through the introduction of IT-related interventions (ERP, etc) and provision of professional human resources was also among the top priorities.

Regional Connectivity is an important aspect of the Pakistan Railway development framework.

Presently, Pakistan Railway has planned to improve its functional links with regional countries including India and Iran, he added.

Furthermore, the official said the following new rail links would be established including Uzbekistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan (UAP) Railway connectivity project through Kohat-Kharlachi.

Exchange rates for currency notes

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KARACHI, Aug 15 (APP): CURRENCY SELLING BUYING
USD 291.59 285.32
GBP 369.98 362.00
EUR 318.25 311.98
JPY 2.0040 1.9608
SAR 77.82 75.96
AED 79.41 78.19

LIBOR
LIBOR FOR CALCULATING INTEREST ON SPECIAL USD BONDS
LIBOR 1M 5.42695
LIBOR 3M 5.63076
LIBOR 6M 5.84966

US DOLLAR Indicative FBP Rates

CURRENCY SIGHT/
15 DAYS 1M 2M 3M 4M 5M 6M

USD 287.55 286.91 284.55 282.67 279.98 277.40 275.71

EUR 314.04 313.61 311.46 309.85 307.36 305.16 303.78

GBP 364.86 364.08 361.11 358.71 355.26 352.05 349.80

APP/msq

Governor approves summary for appointment of Justice (R) Maqbool Baqar as Caretaker CM Sindh

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KARACHI, Aug 15 (APP): Governor Muhammad Kamran Khan Tessori Tuesday approved the summary for appointment of Justice (R) Maqbool Baqar as Caretaker Chief Minister Sindh as Chief Minister and the leader of the opposition in provincial assembly unanimously agreed and recommended his name for the post.

The governor while exercising his powers conferred on him under Article 224 (1-A) of constitution, accorded approval for appointment of former Supreme Court Judge, Justice (R) Maqbool Baqar as Caretaker Chief Minister Sindh.

Chief Minister Sayed Murad Ali Shah also moved a summary to the governor for the appointment of caretaker Chief Minister as required by the constitution.

APP/abd

NBP Exchange Rates

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KARACHI, Aug 15 (APP): Treasury Management Division of National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) on Tuesday issued the following
exchange rates.

URRENCY SYMBOL TT Selling TT Buying
U.S DOLLAR USD 288.70 288.20
EURO EUR 315.68 315.13
JAPANESE YEN JPY 1.9842 1.9807
BRITISH POUND GBP 366.32 365.68
SWISS FRANC CHF 329.23 328.66
CANADIAN DOLLAR CAD 214.76 214.39
AUSTRALIAN DOLAR AUD 187.86 187.54
SWEDISH KRONA SEK 26.91 26.87
NORWEGIAN KRONE NOK 27.62 27.57
DANISH KRONE DKK 42.29 42.21
NEWZEALAND DOLLAR NZD 172.88 172.58
SINGAPORE DOLLAR SGD 212.91 212.54
HONGKONG DOLLAR HKD 37.06 36.99
KOREAN WON KRW 0.2162 0.2158
CHINESE YUAN CNY 39.76 39.69
MALAYSIAN RINGGIT MYR 62.40 62.29
THAI BAHT THB 08.18 08.17
U.E.A DIRHAM AED 79.16 79.02
SAUDI RIYAL SAR 77.05 76.92
QATAR RIYAL QAR 79.32 79.19
KUWAITI DINAR KWD 939.84 938.21

CONVERSION RATE FOR FROZEN FCY DEPOSITS
USD 288.3842
GBP 366.4786
EUR 317.0784
JPY 1.9937

SETTLEMENT DATE: 17-08-2023

APP/msq

Famed Pakistani-American singer Urooj Aftab conferred ‘Pride of Performance’ Award

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WASHINGTON, Aug 15 (APP): Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United States, Masood Khan, Monday conferred the President’s Pride of Performance medal on Grammy award winner Urooj Aftab, an internationally recognized Pakistani-American vocalist, music composer and producer.

Ms. Aftab, 38, was the first Pakistani woman to ever win a grammy in 2022, a major annual American entertainment award. She sang Hafeez Hoshiarpuri’s Ghazal , “Mohabbat Karne Wale Kam Na Honge…” , in the Best Global Performance category.

“In recognition of her outstanding contribution in promoting Pakistani music tradition in the United States and across the globe, the President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan has conferred on Ms. Urooj Aftab the President’s Pride of performance award,” said the citation read at an investiture held on the occasion of Pakistan’s Independence Day.

Ambassador Masood Khan underscored her role in bringing the people of two countries closer to each other through the power of music, saying that diplomacy and interstate relations were all about perceptions and Ms. Aftab has helped change the perception of Pakistan.

“Pakistanis loves music,” the Ambassador said.

Thanking the Government of Pakistan, Ms. Aftab said that it was a good moment to acknowledge that literature, poetry and music have been an “integral part of our identity as Pakistanis”.

Terming the conferment of the award upon her as a matter of pride and a source of inspiration for other female artists of the country, she said that it was a bright day for Pakistani female musicians.

On the occasion, Ms. Aftab also thanked and paid tribute to legendary female Pakistani singers, from Mukhtar Begum to Abida Parveen. “I don’t think I would be standing here if it wasn’t for them,” she said.

She also thanked her parents for their continued support to her.

Pakistani, Russian flags digitally displayed on high rise buildings in Moscow

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MOSCOW, Aug 15 (APP):Pakistani and Russian flags were digitally displayed on three high rise buildings in Arbat street in the heart of Moscow on Monday to mark the 76th Independence Day of Pakistan.

The three buildings in Arbat were close to Red square and were designed in the shape of a book.
These buildings could be easily seen from river Moscow.
Pakistan and Russia had completed 75 years of their diplomatic relations.
The city government of Moscow and the Pakistani embassy in Russia had taken the initiative for displaying the Pakistani and Russian flags which were reflective of the close ties of the two countries.
Amid the flags, names of Russia and Pakistan in Russian and Urdu languages were also displayed.