Increasing financial services: Swedish IT capabilities could be utilized: Dar

Finance Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar Wednesday said that Swedish capability in Information Technology (IT) sector could be utilized to provide increased financial services to the people in various parts of the country. The Finance Minister was talking to Swedish Ambassador Ms Ingrid Johansson who called on him here. Finance Minister briefed the Swedish Ambassador about the turnaround in the economy over the past three years which had resulted in a growth rate of 4.7%, record low inflation and increase in foreign exchange reserves.
Dar also informed the Swedish Ambassador about the income support programme in Pakistan which was designed to make the people self sufficient. The minister expressed hope that she would work towards further enhancing trade and economic ties with Pakistan. The Swedish Ambassador informed the minister of her recent visit to Karachi where she had held useful bilateral meetings. She also informed of the Swedish collaboration with the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) as well as Punjab government in the areas of digital financial services and road safety respectively.
It was pointed out that Sweden was world's leader in IT sector, particularly in start-ups, and that efforts were underway to establish links with various universities in Pakistan. Sweden also has world leading companies like Ericsson, Volvo, Saab and Scania which had put its economy on a strong footing. The meeting was attended by Secretary Economic Affairs Division as well as senior officials of Ministry of Finance.