SIFC helped Pakistan attract $2.3bn in FDI

ISLAMABAD: The government informed that the National Assembly that Special Investment Facilitation Council was established on 19th June, 2023 and since July, 2023 till June, 2024 approximately $2.3bn MI inflows were recorded by the State Bank of Pakistan.

The response came during the question hour in the National Assembly in a reply to a question of Sharmila Faroqui, who asked the total quantum of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) attracted through the initiative.

Federal Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Dr. Tariq Fazal Chaudhry said that after the establishment of SIFC, there has been a record increase in foreign government investment in Pakistan, and SIFC plays a key role in removing barriers to investment for foreign investors. To a supplementary question by Shazia Marri, Dr. Tariq Fazal improving the economic indicators. To another supplementary by Arshad Abdullah, he said that there were many obstacles in our system due to which global investors were facing difficulties and the aim of SIFC is to remove all obstacles. He said instead of manual, we are moving towards automation. On a question from Osama Hamza, Dr. Tariq Fazal Chaudhry said that SIFC plays a key role in Pakistan’s economic development. “When the SIFC restricted Indian proxies working in Balochistan and KP, India resorted to armed aggression,” he said.

In a written reply to question of Tahira Aurangzeb, the Ministry of Climate Change Environment Coordination told the National Assembly that Pakistan, according to the Climate Risk Index (CRI)-2025 report released by German watch, has been ranked first in the list of most affected countries due to unprecedented floods in 2022. According to the Economic Survey of Pakistan 2022-23, 33 million people were affected in 94 districts across Pakistan with over 1,700 fatalities and displacement of around 7.6 million people. The total damages and losses amounted to around $30 billion.

Minister of State for Climate Change and Environmental Coordination Dr Shezra Mansab while responding to a question of Mussarat Rafique Mahesa said Pakistan has launched a $37 million worth programme aimed at addressing the severe impacts of melting of glaciers. She told National Assembly’s question hour, that the programme includes the installation of early warning systems, local community training, and infrastructure development to help mitigate the impact of flooding caused by glacier melt.

She said over 24 flagship projects have been identified across the Indus Basin aimed at restoring degraded ecosystems, enhancing groundwater recharge, and improving water security for agriculture. She said provincial governments are leading on-ground implementation with wetland conservation in Sindh, watershed rehabilitation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and improved irrigation efficiency in Punjab and Balochistan. The programme also includes timely advisories for Rabi and Kharif crops to support the agricultural sector.

In a written reply to a question of Sharmila Faroqui, the Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication Shaza Fatima Khawaja told the house that in the UN Global Cyber Security Index 2024 has ranked Pakistan in the top tier alongside countries such as Singapore, USA, Japan, Australia, etc.

As part of the reporting process to ITU led by MoIT&T, a detailed list of initiatives under-taken by the government and other stakeholders were shared with ITU. This included recent legislation, policies, regulations, capacity building efforts, establishment of The National Cyber Emergency Response Team (NCERT) and other reforms that led to the uplifting of the cyber security ecosystem in Pakistan. This has resulted in the placement of Pakistan in the top tier of the Global Cyber Security Index (GCI).

In a reply to question, of Dr. Shazia Sobia Aslam Soomro, Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication Shaza Fatima Khawaja said a total of 20,711 IT/IteS companies are registered with Pakistan Software Export Board.