Islamabad,

Hammad Azhar, who took over as the country’s finance minister only two days ago, on March 29, said on Wednesday that the government had decided to resume trade with India, reported local broadcaster.

Pakistan had suspended trade with India in August 2019.  Addressing a press conference in Islamabad, the new finance minister said now the private sector would be able to import 0.5 million tonnes of sugar from India.

Similarly, he informed, it had been decided to start importing cotton from India also by the end of June this year. Hammad said wheat’s support price had been fixed at Rs1,800 per maund. He further said that the Pakistani rupee was strengthening against the US dollar.

The minister said he would continue to seek guidance for the betterment of the country’s economy. Hammad said there was a price hike in the entire world due to coronavirus.

Admitting that increase was witnessed in ghee, sugar and flour prices, the minister expressed the resolve to work tirelessly to bring the prices of all essential items down.

He informed that the government had decided to decrease the prices of petrol and diesel by Rs1.55 per liter and Rs3 per liter, respectively.

Earlier, Hammad Azhar chaired the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) meeting, which gave a green signal to the import of cotton and yarn from India.

Sources told local broadcaster that similarly, the meeting also allowed the import of sugar from the neighboring country. They further said that the import of cotton and yarn from India would cost Pakistan much less.

Sources disclosed that historic reduction in cotton production this year had also taken its toll on yarn. It has been learnt that the industrialists have welcomed the resumption of trade with India.

Meanwhile, in a tweet, Federal Finance Minister Hammad Azhar has said that Pakistan has successfully released Euro bonds.

He claimed that international investors were now reposing their trust in Pakistan’s economy.

This post was originally published on VOSA.