ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb has highlighted country’s improved macroeconomic outlook during his meetings with key financial institutions, rating agencies, and global corporations in Washington.
He has just concluded the fourth day of his visit to Washington for the spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank.
Finance ministers and central bank governors from 191 countries gathered in the US capital to address global challenges such as sovereign debt, climate finance, and reforming the international financial system.
As part of a series of corporate meetings, the finance minister met with Visa’s Regional Vice President, Andrew Torre, and expressed appreciation for the company’s role in advancing the digitalisation of the national economy.
He highlighted Visa’s plans to triple the size of its local offices and its partnerships with 1-Link and PayPak, noting that these initiatives would greatly support financial inclusion, enhance e-commerce, improve transaction security, expand payment gateways, and facilitate remittance flows. The minister assured Torre of the government’s full support in resolving any operational challenges in Pakistan.
Additionally, the finance minister met with the Vice President of Philip Morris International, acknowledging the company’s long-standing investment in the country. He also underscored the importance of enforcing compliance measures to combat the illicit production and sale of cigarettes.
He also briefed institutional investors at a seminar hosted by JP Morgan called Pakistan’s Economic and Monetary Policy Outlook.
Meanwhile, in a meeting with Masato Kanda, president of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Aurangzeb the two sides discussed ADB’s project pipeline and committed to accelerating project execution. He requested backing for a partial credit guarantee to facilitate the issuance of the Panda bond, expressing optimism that budgetary support would be secured within the year.
He also assured Kanda of Pakistan’s delegation’s participation in the upcoming CAREC meeting scheduled for November 2025.
Meetings with Fitch, Moody’s
The finance minister also held separate meetings with international rating agencies Fitch Ratings and Moody’s, expressing gratitude to Fitch for upgrading Pakistan’s sovereign rating to B-. He also outlined the country’s progress on structural reforms in key areas such as energy, taxation, state-owned enterprises, public finance, and debt management.
In discussions with Moody’s, the minister highlighted Pakistan’s improving economic indicators, including low inflation, fiscal surpluses, and record-high remittances, while stressing ongoing efforts to expand the tax base through comprehensive reforms.
In a meeting with Moody’s team today, Finance Minister shared the progress on Government’s structural reform agenda which had firmly set Pakistan on the growth trajectory. Highlighted strong economic indicators evidenced by low inflation, primary and current account surpluses,… pic.twitter.com/gUOssnqnT4
— Pakistan Embassy US (@PakinUSA) April 24, 2025
On trade, he reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to maintaining a constructive dialogue with the U.S. Administration.
Meetings with World Bank, IMF
Aurangzeb also met with Sangbu Kim, World Bank’s vice president for digital transformation, and highlighted Pakistan’s progress under the Digital Pakistan policy, particularly in taxation reforms and the end-to-end digitisation of the Federal Board of Revenue.
Finance Minister held a meeting with Mr. Jihad Azour, Director Middle East and Central Asia of the IMF. Thanked the Fund for reaching a Staff-Level Agreement on the first review under Pakistan’s Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and a new arrangement under the Resilience and… pic.twitter.com/qnArT0EHIC
— Pakistan Embassy US (@PakinUSA) April 25, 2025
Stressing the need for horizontal integration across government entities, he sought the Bank’s support in operationalising the Country Partnership Framework (CPF) through technology.
Finance Minister met with Mr. Sangbu Kim, World Bank’s Vice President for Digital Transformation. Briefed him on the Government’s digitalization efforts under the Digital Pakistan Policy, particularly taxation reforms and end-to-end digitization of FBR in terms of people, process… pic.twitter.com/8mkGbAbNAE
— Pakistan Embassy US (@PakinUSA) April 25, 2025
During a meeting with Jihad Azour, IMF director for the Middle East and Central Asia, the Aurangzeb thanked the IMF for the successful staff-level agreement for Pakistan’s economic reforms. He reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to sustaining reforms.
