KARACHI: Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb on Friday held a series of meetings with officials of the World Bank, Fitch Ratings and others in Washington, aimed at advancing the country’s economic agenda and highlighting its commitment to reforms under a $7 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) program.
Aurangzeb met President of the World Bank Ajay Banga on the sidelines of the IMF–World Bank annual meetings and reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to deepening its partnership with the Bank, according to the Pakistani finance ministry.
He briefed the World Bank president on the government’s response to recent floods, which killed over 1,000, affected another 4 million and caused an estimated $1.3 billion losses.
“The Minister endorsed the proposal of leveraging technology platforms and cooperatives to effectively reach small farmers and enhance agricultural resilience,” the finance ministry said in a statement.
“Aurangzeb thanked the World Bank for its technical assistance in developing Pakistan’s Tariff Policy and informed Mr. Banga about the Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) signed with provinces for the implementation of the Country Partnership Framework (CPF).”
He requested additional support under the International Development Association (IDA) windows in light of reduced allocations and discussed the importance of adopting a holistic approach toward reforming Pakistan’s gas and power sectors to ensure long-term sustainability and efficiency.
The finance minister earlier met officials of Fitch Ratings agency in Washington DC and briefed them on his government’s commitment to structural reforms. He thanked the agency for upgrading Pakistan’s credit rating to B- with a stable outlook and expressed satisfaction that all three major international rating agencies were now aligned in their assessments.
“He briefed the Fitch team on the recently announced Staff Level Agreement (SLA) with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and highlighted Pakistan’s progress on key structural reforms in taxation, energy, privatization, and state-owned enterprises (SOEs),” his ministry said.
“The Minister underscored the government’s resolve to expedite the privatization process to enhance efficiency and fiscal sustainability.”
Islamabad has described the agreement with the IMF for the release of a $1.2 billion loan tranche as a strong external validation of Pakistan’s economic reform agenda.
Aurangzeb apprised Fitch officials of the government’s ongoing efforts to issue Panda Bonds in the Chinese market and referred to successful trade and tariff negotiations with the US administration, which saw the lowering of tariffs on Pakistan from 29 percent to 19 percent.
“The meeting concluded with an interactive exchange, during which the Minister responded to queries from the Fitch team and reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to maintaining macroeconomic stability and sustaining reform momentum,” the finance ministry added.
