Federal Finance Minister, Ishaq Dar chaired a meeting on matters related to the Debt Policy Co-ordination Office here at the Ministry of Finance on Friday. The Finance Minister emphasised the importance of prudent debt management for a growing economy.
Referring to his article on Pakistan's debt published earlier this week, he said that the purpose of the article was to emphasise that Pakistan is properly managing its debt, and to dispel any notion that the country is at risk with regard to debt obligations in the foreseeable future. He said that the sustainability profile of public debt has improved significantly during the present government, and urged the Debt Office to continue its efforts to further improve the debt sustainability profile.
The Finance Minister expressed his satisfaction that the Net Debt to GDP ratio has remained unchanged at 60.2 percent, during the period July 2013 to June 2016. He emphasised that the net Debt to GDP ratio has been maintained at this level despite the fact that the current government has enhanced Federal Development spending from Rs 348 billion in FY 2013 to Rs 800 billion for FY 2017, and has increased cash income support to the most vulnerable from Rs 40 billion to Rs 115 billion in 3 years to end June 2016. He further highlighted that fiscal deficits have been curtailed from 8.2 percent to 4.6 percent of GDP in 3 years to June 2016.
The meeting was attended by senior officials of the Ministry of Finance.-PR