Danish Minister for Development Corporation Christian Friis Bach along with his six member delegation called on Finance Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar to discuss matters of mutual interest.The Danish Minister congratulated the Finance Minister on the election of PML-N in the recent elections, successful passage of the budget and concluding an agreement with IMF.The Danish Minister said that Denmark was committed to its partnership with Pakistan for expanding its trade and economic ties. The Danish Minister informed the Finance Minister that the Danish Government has decided to open a Commercial Section in its embassy in Pakistan. The Finance Minister Senator Ishaq Dar briefed the Danish Minister on the measures taken by this government to address the macroeconomic imbalance and the austerity measures adopted by this Government along with reforms to improve the revenue of the country. He said that the government had cut non-development expenditure by 30 percent and this was expected to save Rs.40 billion.
The Finance Minister also informed the Danish Minister that the Government has increased its allocation for social sector specially it has doubled its allocation for Social Safety net from Rs.40 billion to Rs.75 billion. The government is committed to increase its spending on education from the present 2% to 4% of the GDP, he added.
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The Finance Minister informed the Danish Minister for Development Cooperation that the government is coming up with a new Hydro-Carbon Production and Exploration Policy which would facilitate investment in this sector as Pakistan had known Hydro-Carbon reserves which can be explored.
The Finance Minister said that he was grateful to Denmark for its support of grant of GSP plus by European Union to Pakistan and was looking forward to greater economic cooperation between the two countries. He also thanked the Danish Minister for opening a commercial section in its embassy in Pakistan.
The Finance Minister assured the Danish Minister that the present Government under the leadership of Prime Minister M. Nawaz Sharif is committed to transparency and has zero tolerance for corruption.
The Danish Minister said that he was encouraged by the policies and decisions taken by PML-N Government and was optimistic about expanding the economic ties between the two countries. The Danish Minister assured the Finance Minister that he will convey this message to Danish businessmen.
