Federal Finance Minister Senator Ishaq Dar on Sunday presided over a high-level meeting at the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) here to review the progress on measures taken to increase the size of remittances. The meeting was attended by SBP Governor Yaseen Anwar, chief executives of private banks and senior officials of Ministry of Finance, said a statement issued here.

The Finance Minister directed the SBP to release a sum of Rs 5 billion to private banks in lieu of remittance charges due to them. This amount, the Finance Minister said, would be reimbursed by the Ministry of Finance by Monday positively.

Dar expressed satisfaction over the increase in remittances by Pakistanis working abroad. He said the Pakistan Remittance Initiative (PRI) should redouble its efforts to help exceed the target set by the government. The Finance Minister expressed the confidence that with the release of Rs 5 billion to private banks, they would be able to continue providing free of charge services to Pakistanis for sending money to their loved ones at home.

The Government of Pakistan, he said, would continue to bear service charges involved in the transfer of money by Pakistanis working abroad. This would also ensure that they transmit their money through banking channel which helps in increasing the foreign exchange reserves of the country. The Finance Minister also directed the SBP Governor to come up with new products to increase remittances and their prompt and reliable transfer to Pakistan.

Copyright Associated Press of Pakistan, 2013