KARACHI: Pakistani Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb on Thursday held high-level interactions with officials from the United States (US), China and Japan in Washington DC, seeking to deepen Pakistan’s economic partnerships, advance reform efforts, and promote digital and sustainable growth.
The interactions were held on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank meetings as Islamabad strives for a sustained economic recovery under a $7 billion IMF loan program, secured in September last year.
Aurangzeb delivered a keynote address at the Atlantic Council on ‘Reform Efforts in Pakistan & the Challenges Ahead,’ at which he highlighted external validation of the country’s reform agenda by the IMF and international rating agencies.
He detailed reforms planned for Pakistan Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), reconstitution of the National Finance Commission (NFC), measures to boost private sector-led growth, and a liberal tariff policy aimed at increasing competitiveness and exports.
“The Finance Minister held a productive meeting with Congressman French Hill, Chairman of the US House Financial Services Committee,” the Pakistani finance ministry said in a statement. “Both sides discussed avenues to deepen Pakistan–US economic and financial cooperation, with particular emphasis on the digitization of financial services, the new economy, mineral development, and broader IT collaboration.”
