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Minister of Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry has never been shy of broadcasting the positive impact that the current government has had on the nation. In a recent press conference, he did not hold himself back as he explained the positive shift in economic and other key indicators as a result of governmental policies.
Addressing the press in Islamabad on Sunday, he expounded upon the milestones achieved by Pakistan in the foreign relations department. According to Chaudhry, the first batch of five hundred million dollars out of the total three billion dollars from Qatar has already arrived thereby having a positive impact on the country’s foreign exchange reserves.
Additionally, the deferred oil payment worth three billion dollars from Saudi Arabia is expected to initiate tomorrow. On that note, the Minister also mentioned that a total of 9.5 billion dollars in loan repayments have been paid by the PTI government so far; a considerable amount considering that it’s equivalent to the total budget of Sindh.
He continued to paint a picture of a forward-moving Pakistan by stating that as a result of the successful efforts of the government, the British Airways and other European organizations have restarted their operations in the country. Several countries in the EU have also changed their travel advisory with respect to Pakistan.
On the science and technology front, Chaudhry explained that the government was focused on the promotion of science throughout the country and that projects in collaboration with EU countries are final underway after a period of twenty five years.
Another thing to look forward to is improved relations with the USA and Afghanistan, with the latter having been offered to set up a campus of COMSATS at Kandahar; Chaudhry’s appointment as the head of the COMSATS advisory board might have contributed to this development. He expressed his desire of improving relations with India as well.
The Minister believes that tax collection and documentation remains a major challenge for the government, and that the opposition’s criticism at this stage is not only unhelpful, but scattered and confused.
