The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet was held at the Prime Minister’s Office under the chairmanship of Federal Minister for Finance Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar here this evening.
The Economic Coordination Committee of the Cabinet approved a draft policy framework for regulation of organizations receiving foreign contributions. In the absence of a policy framework, Economic Affairs Division was restrained to sign new Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) with International Non-Government Organizations (NGOs), particularly those with on-going operations and whose MOUs were about to expire.
“The objective of the Government is to bring transparency in the working of the organizations receiving any sort of foreign funding and removing any difficulty which these organizations might have been facing on account of lack of such framework”, said the Finance Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar.
Under the policy framework, the MOUs with International Non-Government Organizations will be signed for a period up to five year. They will have to maintain a full disclosure of their activities, their respective areas of working, the source of their funding and the utilization of their funds.
The Draft policy envisages that the Government encourages philanthropic activities and shall not restrict any INGO from working in Pakistan in case of any calamity – but they will have to carry on with their work after bringing their activities into the knowledge of the Government and with its approval.
On a summary moved by Ministry of National Food Security and Research, it was brought into the notice of ECC that a delegation of Pakistan Flour Mills Association had approached the Ministry with a request to supply at least 400,000 metric tons of wheat to KPK.
The ECC decided that the KPK Government should be approached to lift the balance of 90,000 tons of wheat from PASCO for which they have already made payment and provide it to the flour mills of the province so that flour prices and supply remain stable.
A question arose regarding an earlier decision of ECC on fixation of quantity and consumption time of inputs used in manufacture of ghee to be exported to Afghanistan under DTRE Scheme.
The ECC maintained that the manufacturer-cum exporter of ghee can avail DTRE approval for a quantity of 1000 MT at a time, which is to be consumed and exported within 90 days. Once such 1000 MT is consumed and exported, the manufacturer-cum-exporter can apply for another DTRE of the same quantity after ninety days.
The meeting was attended by Minister for Industries and Production, Minister for Information and Broadcasting and National Heritage, Minister for National Food Security and Research, Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources, Minister for Planning and Development, Minister for Water and Power and senior officials of concerned ministries.
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