During the special meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Riyadh, Pakistan’s Finance Minister Aurangzeb discussed the country’s consideration of adopting digital money.

“Even though we bring in Rs9.4 trillion a year, half of our economy is undocumented,” he said.

Aurangzeb added that a deal to enable the full digitalization of the economy was struck with McKinsey on Friday.

The finance minister declared, “They are coming in and helping us with the end-to-end digitalization of our economy.”

The urgent necessity to put in place a framework for a green tax economy was stressed by FinMin Aurangzeb.

He said that even global organisations like the World Bank (WB) are investigating novel financing arrangements.

The minister emphasised the need to address the nation’s financial needs through a combination of domestic and foreign funding sources.

Governor Jameel Ahmad of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) originally disclosed plans to introduce the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), Pakistan’s first digital currency, back in July 2023.

While briefing the Senate’s Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue, he said these things. Under the direction of Senator Saleem Mandviwalla, the meeting was conducted at Parliament House.

The committee was informed that the SBP is attempting to gain insight from the experience of other central banks that are attempting to introduce digital currency on a trial basis.

According to a representative for the central bank, as of April 19, 2024, the nation’s total liquid foreign reserves were valued at US$ 13,280.5 million. A loss of US$74 million left the State Bank of Pakistan’s foreign reserves at US$7,981.2 million.

Commercial banks have $5,299.3 million in reserves for Pakistan.

In the week that concluded on April 12, the State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) foreign exchange reserves increased by $14.4 million to $8.055 billion.

“In a weekly statement, SBP stated that it has repaid US$ 1 billion in principal and interest on Pakistan’s International Bond, which matures this week.”

But at $13.374 billion, the nation’s total reserves decreased by $68 million. In the same way, commercial banks’ reserves dropped to $5.319 billion, a reduction of $82 million.

According to a release, important players from a range of maritime industries attended the conference to discuss issues facing the shipping sector.

It further stated that the symposium cleared the path for the resurgence of a sustainable future in ship recycling.

Participants in the conference included representatives of the Gadani Ship Breaking Labour Union, PSBA, KS&EW, KPT, PMSA, GEMS, and the federal and Balochistani governments.

Furthermore, global perspectives and ideas were offered by international specialists such as Rabia Razzaque from UN-ILO and Professor Raphael Baumler from the World Maritime University.

The seminar emphasized Pakistan’s capacity to emerge as a pioneer in the field of environmentally friendly ship recycling.

In order to protect the environment and the safety of employees, the participants emphasized the importance of following international standards and regulations.

During his speech, Chief Guest Senator Nisar Ahmed Khoro emphasized the importance of the maritime industry’s resurgence and the crucial necessity for coordinated efforts from all parties involved.

A new age of economic prosperity, worker safety, and environmental responsibility for Pakistan’s maritime industry was called for as he urged the stakeholders to work together on a comprehensive SENSREC program.

Vice Admiral Ahmed Saeed (Retd), the president of NIMA, emphasized the significance of environmental stewardship and safety in ship recycling procedures.