Overview
- Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif chaired an Export Development Fund meeting on Saturday and confirmed a Rs3 billion SME export-insurance risk pool and that Rs24 billion held by the EDF has been earmarked for investment to help businesses.
- Earlier this week the government signed a reinsurance deal between Pak EXIM and the Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credit and a related EDF–Pak EXIM arrangement to expand export insurance capacity.
- The EDF has been restructured and placed under private‑sector experts, and officials said future EDF spending will target research, skills and competitiveness rather than new infrastructure.
- Export credit insurance and the new risk pool are meant to protect exporters and banks against buyer non-payment and political risk, which should make lenders more willing to offer trade loans to smaller firms.
- Officials stressed securing an extension of GSP Plus for EU market access as a key next step, and they have not yet published timelines or operational details for how the new facilities will be rolled out.