This is apropos a Business Recorder news item “PM explains how dependence on IMF can be ended” carried by the newspaper in its yesterday’s issue. According to the prime minister, “the country will not be needing the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme in future if it is able to tap the full potential of the overseas Pakistanis”. Unfortunately, the PM does not display his fullest appreciation of the fact that the workers’ remittances have already surpassed the foreign exchange that is collected through export proceeds. These can never come near what the country spends on its overall imports owing to a variety of reasons. One of the principal reasons is that ours is a developing country. The foreign direct investment (FDI) is the third and perhaps last source of generating foreign exchange. An end to country’s dependence or reliance on the IMF to correct the external sector imbalance can only be achieved through higher exports and increased FDI. Our policymakers are therefore required to work towards setting the right order of priorities and actions as the peak in workers’ remittances is about to run its course.

Saleh Noor (Islamabad)

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021