Govt sets target of reducing fiscal deficit to 4% in next one or two years: Senate told

January 17, 2020: Minister for Economic Affairs Hammad Azhar has said the government has set the target of reducing fiscal deficit to four percent in the next one or two years.

Speaking in the Senate today during Question Hour, he said our fiscal deficit for the first quarter of current financial year remained within the target rather according to the IMF we over-performed in this area.

Hammad Azhar said the government took difficult decisions to save the country from default. He said we retired over ten billion dollars of debt in the first year which is the highest made by any government. He said foreign exchange reserves are also on upward trajectory.

The Minister said revenue collection has also witnessed growth during the first half of current fiscal year and efforts are afoot to enhance non-tax revenue. He said the private sector will be provided with an enabling environment to create job opportunities for the youth.

Hammad Azhar said the government has forecast to gradually reduce the debt to GDP ratio. For this purpose we will enhance our revenues and foreign exchange reserves besides cutting expenditures.

Radio Pakistan