Embassy of Pakistan in Vienna organized a webinar to raise awareness about Roshan Digital Account (RDA)

The Embassy of Pakistan in Vienna organized a webinar to raise awareness about Roshan Digital Account (RDA) Initiative and to promote it amongst Pakistanis living in Austria, Sweden, Czech Republic, Poland and Slovak Republic. The webinar was organized with the collaboration of Pakistan’s Embassies in Sweden, Poland and Czech Republic and in partnership with Meezan Bank, State Bank of Pakistan and Pakistan Stock Exchange. It was attended by members of the Pakistani community and representatives of community organizations.

Ambassador Aftab Ahmad Khokher said that overseas Pakistanis were an invaluable asset for Pakistan and Roshan Digital Account (RDA) Initiative was providing them a unique opportunity to be a partner in Pakistan’s economic recovery and growth. He said that RDA initiative was also a mean to strengthen bondage with Pakistan. He said that it was second webinar of Embassy of Pakistan in Vienna for promotion of RDA and he would continue his endeavours for its further promotion. He also shared some challenges faced by some Pakistanis residing in Austria in opening the accounts and suggested to remove the hurdles.

H.E. Mr. Zahoor Ahmad, Pakistan’s Ambassador to Sweden highlighted that the focus of the government had changed to geo-economics from geo-politics and expressed hope that a maximum number of overseas Pakistanis would benefit from banking and investment opportunities offered through the Roshan Digital Account.
H.E. Malik Muhammad Farooq, Pakistan’s Ambassador in Poland appreciated the initiative of the government and assured support for its promotion.
H.E. Mr. Muhammad Khalid Jamali, Pakistan’s Ambassador to Czech Republic said that economic diplomacy was main focus of the government and RDA was very useful to attract investment from overseas Pakistanis.

Mr. Irfan Siddiqui, President and CEO of Meezan Bank, in his remarks, highlighted benefits of RDA for investing in stock exchange, real estate and Naya Pakistan certificate. He also mentioned that Meezan Bank offered Riba-free banking and investment opportunities which were Shariah compliant.
Syed Irfan Ali, Executive Director, State Bank of Pakistan explained features of the Roshan Digital Account Initiative. He also shared that overseas Pakistanis had overwhelmingly responded to RDA initiative. He said that 150,000 Pakistanis had opened RDAs and $ 1.2 billion had been transferred to Pakistan through the scheme. He said Pakistan had received record level of remittances amounting to $ 24.2 billion in 10 months.

Mr. Farrukh Khan, CEO. Pakistan Stock Exchange made a presentation about opportunities available in Pakistan’s stock market. He said that investors had shown confidence in stocks which was a positive sign of Pakistan’s growth and development.

Mr. Ahmed Ali Siddique, Head of Shariah Compliance in Meezan Bank made a presentation about procedure of opening RDA. He also elaborated on the possible benefits of investment in stock exchange, real estate as well as donations to charitable organizations in Pakistan.

The key message of the webinar was that expatriate community had more rate of return on investment through RDA than local Pakistanis. It was pointed out that Roshan Digital Account had received a very encouraging response and demonstrated confidence in the economy and policies of Pakistan.
Roshan Digital Account is an initiative of the State Bank of Pakistan offering innovative banking solutions and a variety of facilities to non-resident Pakistanis, enabling them to remotely open foreign currency and Pak Rupee bank accounts in Pakistan and to benefit from different investment opportunities.

Vienna,

29 May 2021