ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb has left for Hong Kong to take part in the Asian Financial Forum (AFF) 2025 where he is expected to meet top Chinese officials, financial experts and investors, state-run media reported on Sunday. 

The AFF is the region’s premier platform that brings together influential leaders from government, finance, and business communities globally for ground-breaking discussions and exchange of insights on the global economy from an Asian perspective. 

AFF 2024 brought together over 140 elite speakers from around the world and attracted over 3,600 visitors from more than 50 countries and regions, including over 70 overseas and mainland China delegations.

“Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb has departed for Hong Kong to represent Pakistan in the eighteenth Asian Financial Forum,” Radio Pakistan reported. 

“During his visit, he will meet with heads and senior officials of major Asian financial institutions.”

The state media said Aurangzeb will meet Chinese and foreign officials, financial sector experts, professionals, investors and top businessmen during the summit. 

These include the heads of China International Capital Corporation Limited, China New Energy Sky Rail Limited and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, it added. 

The Pakistani finance minister will also hold interactions with foreign media, which include speaking to international publications such as Bloomberg, Nikkei Asia and other media representatives.

His visit to Hong Kong takes place as Pakistan attempts to ward off an economic crisis that has drained its resources and triggered a balance of payments headache for the country over the past two years. 

Pakistan has made some economic gains since 2023 by slashing inflation down to single-digit figures from a record high of 38 percent in May 2023 and registering gains in the stock market.