Imran Khan sets up Pak-China Business Investment Forum amid mounting external debt: Report

On Monday, Prime Minister Imran Khan launched the Pakistan-China Business Investment Forum, aimed at promoting investment between the two countries. This comes after the opposition parties intensified pressure against the ruling party over mounting debts and widespread inflation, ANI reported citing ARY News. The business investment forum has been established in partnership with the Board of Investment. Its goal is to make it easier for investors to come to Pakistan and to promote business-to-business industrial collaboration, the report stated. 

"We provide incentives for Chinese industries and businesses to migrate to Pakistan, but the difficulty is that it takes a long time from signing an agreement to putting it into action," PM Khan stated during his address at the inauguration ceremony, as per the Pakistani news outlet. The Pakistani Prime Minister emphasised that investors are unsatisfied with the delay and urged for the removal of barriers to international investment. PM Khan also stressed the importance of making exports a top priority for the country, stating that a country's progress is impossible without growth in exports.

The business forum is reportedly made of 18 Chinese and 19 Pakistani enterprises with an aim to promote sustainable investment and also to develop contemporary technology in Pakistan. According to PM Imran Khan, the country must learn urban planning from China in order to address resource management disparities resulting from rapid population expansion. "Our cities are fast expanding, which will eventually result in a food crisis and a steady loss of open space. China has turned to vertical development in order to save its land for food development," Khan said as reported by Dawn.  

Pakistan is forced to take "tough decisions" due to pressure of IMF: Finance Minister

The Pakistani Prime Minister further stated that he intended to visit China next week but it has now been put on hold owing to the COVID-19 situation. The Prime Minister went on to say that if the trip goes as per plan, it will also focus on urban planning. Meanwhile, on Sunday (January 2), Pakistan's Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin admitted that the country is forced to take some "tough decisions" due to the pressure of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The debt-ridden country is attempting to resurrect the USD 6 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF), which has pushed Imran Khan's government to impose fresh austerity measures on its citizens, News International reported.  

Image: AP