April 24, 2025 (MLN): Pakistan expressed its interest in seeking technical support from the IMF for institutional capacity-building and supported the World Bank’s agenda of job creation through private sector-led growth, as conveyed by the Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb.
The above-mentioned remarks were made during the MENAP Ministers and Central Bank Governors’ Meeting with the Managing Director of the IMF, Ms. Kristalina Georgieva, held on the sidelines of the IMF-World Bank Spring Meetings 2025.
The Minister acknowledged that global uncertainty had increased since the Al-Ula Conference on Emerging Markets held in Saudi Arabia in February 2025.
He emphasized the importance of pursuing structural reforms in taxation, energy, privatization, state-owned enterprises (SOEs), and rightsizing of the government.
He termed the recent ratings upgrade by Fitch as an external validation of the government’s reform agenda, as per the press release.
Identifying agriculture, information technology, and the mining and minerals sectors as the leaders of growth, the Minister stressed the importance of regional trade corridors in response to global trade fragmentation.
He thanked the World Bank for its support through the 10-year Country Partnership Framework (CPF), which focuses on climate change and population.
He also briefed the participants on Pakistan’s Staff-Level Agreement with the IMF for a new arrangement under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF) to address climate vulnerabilities and build economic resilience, he added.
