Business

China resumes group tours to Pakistan

Published

1 year ago

Farwa

Lifting pandemic-era restrictions, Beijing resumed outbound group tours for its citizens to around 80 countries including Pakistan, announced China’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism on Friday.

The move to expand the number of destinations comes as China’s overseas tourism industry has been on a firm trajectory of quick recovery during the past month, China Economic Net (CEN) reported.

It was the third batch of destinations in China’s pilot program for outbound group tours.

The return of more Chinese travellers is also expected to provide a much-needed boost to the global tourism industry and channel optimism into the global economy, observers pointed out.

“The outbound tourism sector is a market-driven one, and many service products need to be prepared in advance,” suggested Jiang Yiyi, a professor of leisure sports and tourism at the Beijing Sport University.

To enhance Pak-China cooperation in the tourism sector, the Pakistani Embassy in China launched a website called Discover Batie, which contains information about the main tourist attractions in Pakistan and links to the official websites of major museums, malls and hotels.

Gandhara Art Exhibition

Earlier, a Gandhara Art Exhibition was held at Palace Museum in Beijing, which showcases 173 artefacts come from Pakistan. “It’s a step to tell the Chinese brothers and sisters what Pakistan can offer.” Sardar Muhammad, Consul General of Pakistan in Guangzhou, commented.

“Pakistan is the topographic heaven for tourists. There are snow-covered mountains, lakes, pine trees and waterfalls, which are especially attractive to those who are keen on adventurous tourism. Tour guide training in Pakistan has started to promote tourist visits from friendly countries.” Sardar Muhammad noted Pakistan’s current efforts in promoting travel facilitation.

Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC) Managing Director Rana Aftab said, “The Task Force on Tourism had already been formed to achieve milestones in the tourism sector. We need to ensure a better and more secure environment and ease of travelling for international tourists. We can promote group tourism through registered and licensed tour operators globally, ensuring an amicable environment for international tourists.”

Business

SFD and Pakistan Sign Two Deals Totaling $1.61BLN

Published

1 day ago

Farwa

Two agreements totaling $1.61 billion have been inked by Pakistan and the Saudi Fund for Development to improve their bilateral economic cooperation.

Business

Saudi Arabia and Pakistan sign an MOU to strengthen their auditing industry collaboration.

Published

1 day ago

Farwa

A spokesperson for the office of the Auditor-General of Pakistan (AGP) announced on Monday that the two countries have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen cooperation in public sector auditing through improved cooperation between audit institutions of both countries, as well as training programs and the exchange of trainers.

This comes as a group from Saudi Arabia’s General Court of Audit (GCA), headed by GCA President Dr. Hussam bin Abdulmohsen Alangari, arrived in Pakistan on Sunday for a four-day visit.

The agreement was signed during AGP Muhammad Ajmal Gondal’s meeting with the Saudi delegates, aiming to strengthen audit cooperation, enhance knowledge-sharing, and improve governance, transparency and accountability in government spending.

Public relations officer Muhammad Raza Irfan of the AGP’s office told Arab News that the deal will further advance bilateral collaboration between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan in addition to enhancing professional ties between the two nations’ auditing institutions.

In a statement released from his office, AGP Gondal was cited as saying, “This collaboration marks a significant step toward fostering international cooperation in auditing.”

“The exchange of ideas and methodologies will undoubtedly strengthen our capacity to meet emerging challenges and set new benchmarks for public accountability.”

Discussions at Monday’s meeting focused on fostering closer ties between the Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs) of Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, sharing innovative audit methodologies, and planning collaborative initiatives for the future, according to the AGP office.

The two parties decided to increase their knowledge of theme, environmental, and impact audits as well as to exchange best practices in audit standards, performance audits, and citizen participation audits.

The statement added, “It also agreed to exchange trainers, address new auditing challenges, plan cooperative audits, including a performance audit on the oil and gas sector in 2025, and work together on training programs.”

Both sides reaffirmed their shared commitment to promoting transparency, accountability and excellence in public sector auditing.

Business

The government chooses to continue the PIA privatization process.

Published

1 day ago

Farwa

The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) privatization process will be restarted by the federal government, and expressions of interest would be requested within the month. Officials stated that the Prime Minister’s Committee on Privatization will convene to make the final decision.

Usman Bajwa, the secretary of the Privatization Commission, gave a briefing on the updated procedure to the National Assembly Standing Committee on Privatization. Additionally, he disclosed that airlines other than PIA are now able to compete with regional carriers thanks to IMF-approved aircraft tax concessions.

Farooq Sattar, the chairman of the privatization committee, underlined the importance of giving PIA workers at least five years of job security. Employee protection will continue to be a top priority and will be resolved prior to bidding, the Privatization Commission promised.

PIA’s liabilities totaling Rs650 billion have already been assumed by the government, and an additional Rs45 billion in outstanding debts must be paid before the privatization process can begin. As of the now, PIA has assets around Rs155 billion and liabilities worth Rs200 billion. It will be necessary for the new buyer to expand the fleet by 15 to 20 aircraft.

Additionally, the Privatization Committee has sought a timeline for the privatization of Faisalabad, Gujranwala, and Islamabad Electric Supply Companies. Officials stated that after the appointment of a financial advisor, the privatization process for these companies will accelerate.