On February 6, 2002, the Sector of Pakistan held a round table on the current socio - economic situation in Pakistan. Presentations were made by S. N. Kamenev and I. V. Zhmuid (both from the Institute of Physics and Technology of the Russian Academy of Sciences). S. N. Kamenev in his report "Current economic situation of Pakistan" noted a slowdown in economic growth to 2.6% in the 2000/01 fiscal year (the fiscal year in Pakistan is from July 1 of this calendar year to June 30 of the next year) due to the impact of a number of global destabilizing factors. Thus, due to the drought, agricultural production decreased by almost 3%: the production of almost all major food and industrial crops - wheat, rice, sugar cane, cotton-decreased. This, in turn, led to stagnation in the country's leading industry - textiles and, as a result, to a reduction in exports of cotton products. The drought also led to a reduction in electricity generation. There was a need to increase purchases of energy carriers abroad, which contributed to a significant increase in foreign exchange costs for their import, since Pakistan meets its oil needs only by 12-14% due to its own production. As for per capita income, S. N. Kamenev noted that in recent years it has been declining (in US dollars) - from $ 513 in 1995 to $ 430 in 2001. It's related. According to S. N. Kamenev, this is due to the fall in the exchange rate of the national currency against the dollar (61 rupees per $ 1 in early 2002), as well as the deterioration of international trade conditions for Pakistan. At the same time, S. N. Kamenev stressed that the negative effects of the drought did not have time to affect the development of industry and foreign trade: industrial growth in 2000/01 was 8%, while the trade balance improved in foreign trade, and foreign trade turnover increased. Pakistan's leading trading partners are the United States, Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Saudi Arabia. There are positive trends in the expans ... Читать далее