Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has termed overseas Pakistanis as the country’s “best asset” on launching of the Foreign Minister’s Portal. He stressed the need for a change of mindset to facilitate millions of nationals living abroad. More than 9 million Pakistanis currently live abroad and send remittances back to their families. It is important that the challenges and issues they face on multiple fronts be tackled to ensure they feel welcome back at home. Their role is also central in achieving Pakistan’s foreign policy objectives and improving the country’s image around the world.
Pakistani nationals have a large number of well-skilled, connected, and influential people all over the world. They also have professional expertise in many emerging fields, and they can lobby for improving Pakistan’s image to the world. The Minister stressed on the use of technology to assist overseas Pakistanis in their issues, while students and workers also need added support in terms of travel restrictions due to covid-19. Overseas Pakistanis are also a big source of funding and investments in the real estate sector of Pakistan as it provides them with a better alternative to keeping money in banks with low interest rates. Pakistan’s average growth in the real estate sector is around 25 percent. Combined with facilities like Roshan Digital Accounts (RDA) and Roshan Apna Ghar (RAG) scheme, real estate is the best sector for investments by overseas Pakistanis.
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