ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb on Wednesday met with his Emirati counterpart and expressed his country’s desire to re-engage with Middle Eastern banks to boost investment in Pakistan, the Pakistani finance ministry said.

Aurangzeb’s meeting with UAE’s Minister of State for Financial Affairs Mohamed bin Hadi Al Hussaini came on the sidelines of his visit to the United States to meet International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank officials.

The Pakistani foreign minister acknowledged long-standing brotherly ties between Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and appreciated the Gulf country’s support to help Pakistan deal with its economic challenges.

“He highlighted Pakistan’s firm resolve to address economic challenges and create a conducive environment for sustainable growth and investment,” the Pakistani finance ministry said in a statement.

“He also expressed Pakistan’s keen interest to re-engage with Middle Eastern Banks to revive their interest in potential investment opportunities in the country.”

He said his government intended to continue with reforms initiated under a $3 billion IMF program in priority areas of taxation, energy and privatization of state-owned enterprises (SOEs), according to the statement.

Aurangzeb arrived in Washington on Sunday to participate in spring meetings organized by the IMF and World Bank. His tour is an important one for the South Asian country as the ongoing nine-month, $3 billion loan program with the IMF designed to tackle a balance-of-payments crisis, is set to expire this month.

With the final $1.1 billion tranche of that deal likely to be approved later this month, Pakistan has begun negotiations for a new multi-year IMF loan program worth “billions” of dollars, according to the finance ministry.

Pakistan seeks at least a three-year IMF program and plans to continue with necessary policy reforms to rein in deficits, build up reserves, and manage soaring debt servicing.

On Wednesday, Aurangzeb attended the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Ministers and Governors meeting with the IMF managing director and highlighted geo-economic fragmentation and its impact on Pakistan.

“He thanked IMF, MDBs (multilateral development banks) and its time-tested sincere bilateral partners for their support in helping the country respond to unprecedented challenges,” Aurangzeb’s ministry said in a separate statement.

“He further underscored aggressive reforms including broadening the tax net, privatizing loss making SOEs, expanding social safety net and facilitating the private sector.”

The minister underlined the importance of rechanneling special drawing rights (SDRs), reviewing surcharges policy, and prioritizing the Resilience and Sustainability Trust (RST) in view of climate vulnerabilities.

“The minister called for a more proactive and responsive Global Financial Safety Net to tackle the elevated risks,” the statement read.

“He welcomed the renewed emphasis of the Fund on Capacity Building through Regional Capacity Development Centers (RCDCs).”

During the engagements, Aurangzeb also met with Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) Executive Vice President Hiroshi Matano and appreciated the Agency’s continued support to Pakistan in attracting foreign investments.

“The minister discussed the ongoing economic reforms, investment climate and measures to enhance investor confidence in Pakistan,” his ministry said.