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ISLAMABAD: The worker’s remittances from abroad remained above $2 billion in February 2021 for the ninth consecutive month of the fiscal year.
According to State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the remittances dispatched by overseas Pakistanis surged by 24.2 percent to $2.26 billion in February 2021 against the same month of last year when the inflows were recorded at $1.82 billion.
It added that during July 2020 to February 2021, workers’ remittances reached $18.7 billion; 24.1 percent higher than the corresponding period of last year. A large part of workers ‘remittance inflow during this period was sourced from Saudi Arabia ($5.0 billion), United Arab Emirates ($3.9 billion), United Kingdom ($2.5 billion) and United States ($1.6 billion).
The central bank said that policy measures undertaken by the government to encourage inflows through formal channels, limited cross border travel due to COVID-19, medical expenses and altruistic transfers to Pakistan amidst the pandemic, and orderly exchange market conditions contributed to the sustained rise in workers’ remittances.
Efforts under the Pakistan Remittances Initiative (PRI) and the gradual re-opening of major host destinations such as the Middle East, Europe and the United States contributed to the sustained increase in workers’ remittances.
The details show that in February, the worker’s inflow from the USA increased from $138 million last year to $210.8 million in the same month of 2020, whereas from the United Kingdom the inflow also surged to $349.2 million from $173.8 million in February 2020.
Similarly from Saudi Arabia, the remittances also increased from $513.1 million to $532.6 million while from Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, and Oman, the workers’ inflow also rose to $429 million, $51.7 million, $5.2 million, $38.2 million, $71.8 million and $82.3 million respectively.
The workers’ remittances from European countries also jumped to $256 million in February 2021 compared to the inflow worth of $132.6 million in February 2020. Likewise from Malaysia, Pakistanis sent $15.7 million, Australia $50.2 million, Canada $45.6 million and $6.5 million was transferred from Japan.
