Finance minister vows to maintain reform momentum in meeting with IMF MD

Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb Tuesday reiterated the Pakistan government’s commitment to maintaining the reform momentum.

During his meeting with IMF Managing Director (MD) Ms. Kristalina Georgieva in Washington D.C. he thanked the IMF team for reaching a Staff-Level Agreement on the First Review under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and a new arrangement under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF).

In his meeting with President of the World Bank Group Ajay Banga, the Finance Minister appreciated the World Bank’s ongoing assistance in crafting a comprehensive implementation strategy and action plan to operationalize the Country Partnership Framework (CPF) while simultaneously enhancing overall efficiency.

Muhammad Aurangzeb also provided a detailed overview of Pakistan’s macroeconomic turnaround and reaffirmed the government’s unwavering commitment to ensuring sustainable economic stability.

The finance minister also held a meeting with Assistant Secretary of the US Department of the Treasury, Robert Kaproth and briefed him on Pakistan’s improving macroeconomic indicators.

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Muhammad Aurangzeb highlighted ongoing reforms in taxation, energy, privatization, state-owned enterprises (SOEs), pensions, and debt management.

At a luncheon hosted by the US-Pakistan Business Council at the US Chamber of Commerce, he emphasized the importance of regional trade, market diversification and sectoral expansion.

Earlier, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb stated that Pakistan has no intention of retaliating against the tariffs imposed by the Donald Trump administration.

In an interview with the BBC, the finance minister acknowledged that Pakistan is indeed concerned about the Trump-era tariffs as they have created an atmosphere of uncertainty.