The Consul General of the Peoples Republic of China in Lahore Mr. Zhao Shiren has said that China believes Pakistan can hold a peaceful, safe and timely elections while the solution of Occupied Kashmir should be according to the resolutions of the United Nations. He expressed these views while talking to journalists in Meet the Press program at Lahore Press Club. Mr. Zhao Shiren said that general elections are internal matter of Pakistan. We should not interfere, but we will welcome whoever forms government and move forward together. He said CPEC is the joint venture of China and Pakistan which has completed 10 years and will be completed in any case. Under CPEC, he said US $26 billion have been invested so far while construction ...
January 26, 2024 at 11:56 am | Economic Affairs
China has become the largest foreign investor in Pakistan. Under the CPEC it has invested almost $30 billion and is committed to invest more in the future. By Prof. Engr. Zamir Ahmed Awan China and Pakistan are closet friends and with relations covering political, diplomatic, economic, and defense dimensions. Irrespective of whatsoever happening in the region or geopolitics, the ties between the two countries have remained undeterred. On the economic front, China has become the largest foreign investor in Pakistan. Under the CPEC it has invested almost $30 billion and is committed to invest more in the future, particularly focusing on investment in the power sector and infrastructure development. The next stage of the CPEC is focu...
January 19, 2024 at 2:29 pm | Economic Affairs
Reliance on oceans has led to diverse economic interactions, which are termed the Blue Economy, covering industries focused on sustainable utilization of ocean-based resources. Reema Shaukat Oceans are a vital resource of our planet, containing countless marine species and vast sea bed possessions. Human existence is inherently linked with oceans and seas. The growing world population and increasing food and energy demands coupled with diminishing land resources have persistently compelled the human race to explore alternate measures for our sustenance and economic development. Besides being the cheapest medium for the transportation of goods, oceans contribute to the world's economy through tourism, fishing, renewable energy prod...
February 10, 2023 at 9:28 am | Economic Affairs
Pakistan needs huge resources for building on a robust, reliable, and efficient system which should be able to monitor, track, identify probable threats to undersea cables and take effective measures to check it. Tahir Amin Choudhry Succinctly, submarine cables or undersea cables or subsea cables are fiber optics deep in the ocean floor encapsulated in a protective shell and in this present age of communication data comprising of personal or commercial, voice or digital, civil or military, educational or recreational and financial transmissions travel via them. More than 95% of the world's telecommunications traffic travels through about 438 transoceanic cables, which can vary from 17mm to 50 mm and totaling over 1.2 million Km in le...
February 10, 2023 at 9:27 am | Economic Affairs
Reformed maritime business strategies will impact related business sectors such as tourism, airlines, fisheries, and shipping and emerging sectors such as biotechnology and ocean energy. Dr. Sehrish Qayyum Economic activity in the ocean is expanding rapidly, driven primarily by changes in global demography, economic growth, trade, rising income levels, climate changes, environment index, and technology. Looking to 2030, many ocean-based industries have the potential to outperform the growth of the global economy, both in terms of value-added services, employment, as well as opportunities they offer. These industries include offshore wind, tidal, and wave energy; offshore aquaculture; cruise tourism; maritime surveillance, and mari...
February 10, 2023 at 9:11 am | Economic Affairs
New technologies are advancing the frontiers of marine resource development, including bio-prospecting and the mining of seabed mineral resources. Commodore Zafar lqbal The oceans cover a large proportion of the earth's surface and make up more than 95 per cent of the biosphere. Seas and Oceans have been used since antiquity but for a variety of reasons their usage has increased tremendously. They provide much of the world's population with food and livelihoods and are a significant means of transport in global trade. The ocean-related economy has played a pivotal role in boosting the world economy worldwide. All advanced cities all over the world are mainly coastal cities. As per estimates, about 40% of the world population is livin...
February 10, 2023 at 9:03 am | Economic Affairs
The event is aimed at promoting harmony and linkages between industries, consumers, businesses, and academia at the national and international levels, besides pivoting on strategizing diplomacies in technology and progression. Dr. Maliha Zeba Khan Exhibitions, exercises, training, conferences, symposia, and field tours are efficient tools of diplomacy. States do use these tools commonly to extend persuasive and cooperative diplomacy, and the outcome is pretty effective enhancing intra-regional and inter-regional relations at all levels. Adding spatiotemporal dimension augments efficacy, and synthesizing and strategizing such activities can culminate in supplemented dividends. The maritime-related event of the Pakistan Internationa...
February 10, 2023 at 8:57 am | Economic Affairs
By fostering a culture of cooperation and collaboration, a framework like AMAN Exercise can help build the capacity of regional littorals to effectively address security challenges in the region. Commodore Sohail Ahmad Azmie The Indian Ocean is a vital region for global commerce and energy security. Over 60% of the world's oil supplies, and more than 80% of the world's seaborne trade in petroleum products transit, through the Indian Ocean. Given its strategic importance, ensuring the security of the Indian Ocean is crucial for regional stability and global peace. The Indian Ocean, for most of its recent history has depended significantly on extra-regional forces for ensuring maritime security. AMAN Exercise, held in the wate...
February 10, 2023 at 12:25 am | Economic Affairs
Maritime is not just a sector but a parallel economy, where various sectors of the economy meet. Huma Baqai “Maritime Blindness” is not an option anymore. In the twenty-first century, the concept of the Blue Economy has become increasingly popular. The concept was first coined by Gunter Pauli in 2010, the author of the book The Blue Economy: 10 Years, 100 Innovations and 100 Million Jobs. Oceans are now seen as drivers of human development, source of food material, and space. The Blue Economy includes established conventional ocean industries like fisheries, tourism, and maritime transport, as well as new and emergent activities like offshore renewable energy, aquaculture, seabed extractive operations and marine biotechnology,...
February 10, 2023 at 12:06 am | Economic Affairs
As one of the top troop-contributing countries, Pakistan deeply values the vital role played by “blue helmets” in maintaining security and stability in many conflict-ridden areas around the world. Prof. Dr. Zafar Nawaz Jaspal The states require a systemic balance between both soft power and hard power capabilities to pursue their national interests in contemporary geopolitics. The soft power resources at the disposal of government machinery are a critical part of the foreign policy tools needed to maximize the state's interests in the anarchical international society. The states skillful in using soft power to facilitate positive collaboration are in an advantageous position in the current globalized interdependent world. This le...
February 9, 2023 at 11:53 pm | Economic Affairs
An inter-connected Asia has the potential to grow faster than other regions through a sustainable supply chain and an interlinked maritime sector that can increase its capacity to connect with global networks with greater efficiency to spur growth and prosperity in the region. Dr Hassan Daud Butt As the world moves more towards regional constructs, the Indian Ocean region is fast becoming the centre of gravity in global trade. The challenges facing us, are more wide-reaching than ever from political to economic to healthcare, with growth forecasts fluctuating fast. Even with the deteriorating outlook, inter-connected Asia has the potential to grow faster than other regions through a sustainable supply chain and an interlinked maritim...
February 9, 2023 at 11:36 pm | Economic Affairs
October 23,2021Dhaka (Press Release)Pakistani squash player Noor Zaman breaks into the final of the Men’s Bangabandhu International Squash Tournament 2021 being held in Dhaka, Bangladesh from October 20-24, 2021. Noor Zaman, 2nd seeded in the championship defeated Mr. Navaneeth Prabhu of India in Semi Final that was played today at the Gulshan Club Dhaka. Six Pakistani players including Mr. Noor Zaman, Mr. Muhammad Farhan Hashmi, Mr. Hamza Sharif Muhammad Ashab Ifran , Salman Saleem and Mr. Ali Uddin participated in the tournament. High Commissioner for Pakistan in Dhaka, Mr. Imran Ahmed Siddiqui welcoming Pakistani Squash players in Dhaka congratulated Noor Zaman on his splendid victory and reaching the final of the internation...
October 24, 2021 at 12:09 pm | Economic Affairs
2017 started off looking bright, but then turned into a dark year for Pakistan’s economy. Usman Hayat The year 2017 started on a positive note. Economy was growing, inflation was low, the rupee was stable, CPEC was progressing, Pakistan’s credit rating had improved, and the stock market was racing. There was hope for better times. But then, things took a turn. Political chaos hit the economy, and hit it hard. The chaos gained momentum with the formation of the Panama case JIT in April and then culminated with the Islamabad sit-in by a faction of the religious right in November. The prolonged chaos changed the once hopeful sentiment. The economic narrative shifted to fiscal deficit, trade deficit, rising debt, setbacks for...
January 1, 2018 at 12:33 pm | News Desk
THE recent ATM card skimming incident is a wake-up call for banks in Pakistan to ensure their customer’s data security against all possible threats. The central bank, on its part, has reminded banks of their responsibility to implement all regulations of Payments Card Security (PCS) that it introduced back in June 2016. Habib Bank Ltd, the bank whose depositors’ ATM cards were skimmed, has started compensating the affected customers. And the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) is now investigating the matter. Customer data security is one of the biggest challenges that banks the world over face. And all central banks continue to strengthen regulations aimed at preventing a security breach. But Pakistani banks have now become ...
December 12, 2017 at 2:36 pm | News Desk
BRUSSELS: The commander of the NATO forces in Afghanistan, US Army Gen. John Nicholson, said Thursday that Pakistan had not changed its behaviour since President Donald Trump announced his new policy for Afghanistan. When asked whether he had seen any increased cooperation from Pakistan with regards to eliminating Taliban sanctuaries, Nicholson said "No, I haven't seen any change yet in their behavior." He was speaking to the reporters on the margins of a gathering of NATO defence ministers in Brussels this week. "You've heard the public statements from President Trump, from (Defense Secretary James) Mattis, from (Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Joseph Dunford) from (Secretary of State Rex) Tillerson, so we are engaging at the ve...
November 10, 2017 at 2:27 pm | News Desk
Brexit negotiations have yet to begin but already the prospect of the UK splitting from the rest of the European Union has roiled the world of business, sending shockwaves through a slew of sectors. Thousands of jobs look set to move and while it’s impossible to attach a price tag to Brexit, industry bodies, consultants, economists and accountants have already published dozens of reports on the possible impact of new tariffs and a restriction on the movement of people. Here’s an overview of what we know. The broader economy The most dramatic and salient economic impact of the Brexit decision came on the night of the decision itself. The pound suffered its biggest one-day fall against the dollar on record as currency trade...
April 22, 2017 at 4:19 pm | News Desk
Pakistan Rupee Exchange Rate