Prime Minister Shehbaz announced his upcoming economic strategy, a home-grown economic programme that aims to revitalize the economy through advancements in agriculture, information technology, and other untapped sectors. He highlighted the significance of the Buna-Raast connectivity project, emphasizing its role in expanding Pakistan’s digital payment infrastructure and strengthening relations with the Arab world through modern digital governance.

The Buna-Raast connectivity project, linking the Raast payment mechanism with the Arab Monetary Fund’s Buna system, aims to facilitate swift, affordable, and effective remittance flows for overseas Pakistanis in Arab countries. PM Shehbaz outlined the project’s potential to facilitate over $20 billion in annual payments and make remittances more affordable and accessible, ultimately leading to a future model of a wider payment system.

Finance Minister Muhamamad Aurangzeb also addressed the event, highlighting the positive impact of the current government’s economic policies, including macroeconomic stability, currency stability, uptick in foreign reserves, and improved ratings from international institutions. He emphasized the significance of remittance flows as a lifeline for Pakistan’s economy and the government’s commitment to sustaining positive growth trends while addressing challenges such as informal markets capturing a sizeable share of remittance flows.

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Aurangzeb stressed the importance of digitization in reducing economic leakages and the government’s efforts to combat corruption through administrative measures and technology. He highlighted the Buna-Raast connectivity project as an attractive alternative to informal channels like Hawala and Hundi, aiming to reduce complexity and cost in remittance flows and contribute to economic growth.