Key points
- Finance Minister meets global executives and partners on Day Three in Washington
- Calls for regional trade diversification and investor confidence revival
- MIGA proposes trade finance support to ease Pakistan’s import constraints
- Engages Pakistani business diaspora, stressing reforms and rating upgrades
WASHINGTON: Pakistan’s Finance and Revenue minister Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb broadened Pakistan’s diplomatic and investment outreach on the sidelines of the IMF–World Bank Annual Meetings in Washington
The Finance Minister’s three-day engagements focused on trade diversification, sustainable financing, and renewed investor confidence, the Finance Division said on Thursday.
In a significant engagement with Azerbaijan’s First Deputy Finance Minister Anar Karimov, the Finance Minister reaffirmed Pakistan’s resolve to deepen regional economic ties beyond the traditional oil and rice trade. He highlighted the recently concluded Pakistan-Azerbaijan Preferential Trade Agreement (January 2025) and Transit Trade Agreement (December 2024) as part of a framework to expand cooperation in textiles, pharmaceuticals, machinery, and agriculture. Aurangzeb also congratulated Azerbaijan on hosting COP29, emphasising joint opportunities in renewable energy and logistics corridors connecting Central and South Asia.
During discussions with Hiroshi Matano, Executive Vice President of the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), the Minister welcomed MIGA’s proposed short-term trade finance facility to ensure uninterrupted access to essential imports, including food, fertilisers, and energy. He also acknowledged the agency’s support in arbitration matters and in promoting investor confidence in Pakistan’s power transmission and distribution sectors.
In a meeting with members of the Pakistan Bank Fund Staff Association (PBFSA), the Finance Minister shared encouraging updates on Pakistan’s fiscal, monetary, and external sector reforms, pointing to the country’s upgraded sovereign credit ratings as proof of improved market sentiment. He reiterated the government’s priorities — fiscal discipline, energy reforms, privatization, and inclusive green growth — while fielding questions on public finance management and monetary stability.
Later, in a detailed interaction with the senior management of Standard Chartered Bank, Aurangzeb reviewed Pakistan’s progress on Panda Bond issuance, plans for Eurobond and Sukuk offerings, and potential trade-financing instruments. He requested the bank to present new proposals to further strengthen collaboration in private capital mobilization.
Concluding the day, Senator Aurangzeb met leading Pakistani entrepreneurs over a working dinner hosted by Ambassador Rizwan Saeed Sheikh at Pakistan House. The Minister briefed them on the country’s economic trajectory, emphasizing streamlined regulation, energy-sector rationalization, and privatization of state-owned enterprises. He urged diaspora business leaders to channel investment proposals aligned with the government’s reform and digitalization agenda.
Aurangzeb noted that improved international credit ratings have revived business confidence, while continued IMF and World Bank support remains vital for macroeconomic stability and climate resilience.
Business participants, according to the Finance Division, assured full backing for translating Pakistan’s economic vision into tangible results.
