The Islamabad Women's Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IWCCI) on Saturday proposed simple step that could be implemented to boost dwindling foreign exchange reserves. There are over 10 million Pakistanis working in around 79 countries including USA, UK, Canada, UAE, Saudi Arabia, etc.
Government can use the potential of overseas Pakistanis to augment fore reserves in order to bring meaningful economic reforms, said Farina Rashid, President IWCCI. Talking to Dr Mustafa Munhall, President Pakistan Economy Watch, she said friendly schemes must be introduced to restore confidence of overseas Pakistanis.
Government can announce a scheme in which if a person sends remittance of up to one million dollars, he/she will be eligible to bring a duty-free automobile in Pakistan, she said. Farina Rashid said that if 10,000 persons respond to this scheme which constitutes 0.1 percent of the total overseas Pakistanis, the government can get 10 billion dollar in foreign exchange. As per the Economic Survey of Pakistan of 2011-2012 a total number of the imported cars and jeeps stood at 1,079,856. If 10 thousand overseas Pakistanis bring their tax-free automobiles it will increase the existing market by only 0.93 percent, she said.-PR