Shehbaz for making economy digital, cashless

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif arrived in Shusha city of Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan on a two-day official visit to participate in the Summit of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO).

Upon his arrival at Fuzuli International Airport, the prime minister and his delegation were warmly received by Azerbaijan’s Minister of Culture Adil Karimli, Azerbaijan’s Ambassador to Pakistan Khazar Farhadov, Pakistan’s Ambassador to Azerbaijan Qasim Mueenuddin, and other senior diplomatic and government officials, a Prime Minister’s Office news release said.

The Pakistani delegation accompanying the prime minister includes Deputy Prime Minister/Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar, Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar, and Special Assistant to the Prime Minister Tariq Fatemi.

During his visit, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will address the ECO Summit in Khankendi, where he is expected to highlight Pakistan’s vision for enhanced regional cooperation, trade, and connectivity among member states.

On the sidelines of the summit, the prime minister will also hold important bilateral meetings with other world leaders attending the event, aiming to strengthen Pakistan’s diplomatic and economic ties in the region.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday stressed to implement the digital transaction system across the country saying it was vital to bring transparency to the economy.

He was chairing a weekly meeting on cashless and digital economy at the Prime Minister’s House. On the occasion, the prime minister emphasised the need to facilitate payments between citizens and businesses and to raise awareness about the use of digital systems. He instructed the committees formed for the cashless economy to work closely with all stakeholders to present doable recommendations. Also, he directed doubling all targets on digital transaction system across the country.

During the meeting, the prime minister was briefed that following the previous meeting, the Digital Payments Innovation and Adoption Committee, the Digital Public Infrastructure Committee, and the Government Payments Committee had been established.

It was informed that the State Bank of Pakistan was developing a strategy to simplify and ease digital payment methods for merchants. A simplified package will be introduced to encourage and include small businesses in digital payments.

The target is to increase the number of mobile app users for digital payments from 95 million to 120 million, and the number of merchants using QR codes will be increased from 0.9 million to 2 million. The total volume of digital payments is aimed to increase from Rs7.5 billion to Rs12 billion. The prime minister directed that all these targets should be doubled.

The Islamabad City mobile application has so far recorded 1.3 million downloads, offering 15 services. Through the Islamabad City App, Rs15.5 billion has been collected under ICT Excise and Taxation, the meeting was informed.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif while stressing the need to accelerate efforts to eradicate polio from the country, expressed the resolve that despite all challenges and difficulties, the government, with the support of international, provincial, and local teams, will soon achieve the goal of a polio-free Pakistan.

“We are committed to protect every child in Pakistan from this crippling disease and achieve a polio-free Pakistan,” the prime minister said while chairing a meeting of the Anti-Polio Task Force here. He extended special thanks to Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman, for his comprehensive support of Pakistan’s polio eradication efforts.