WASHINGTON, Oct 1: The US-Pakistan Joint Economic Forum will hold its next meeting in Islamabad, but the date will be finalized later, Finance Minister, Shaukat Aziz, told reporters on Monday evening after a meeting with the US Treasury Secretary, Paul O’Neil, in Washington.

The forum was established in April this year in Washington to facilitate regular consultations on economic issues of mutual interest.

“The forum is an important vehicle for the exchange of ideas on important economic and financial policy matters,” said Aziz, adding that discussions under the forum will focus on macroeconomic and financial issues.

The Pakistan minister of finance and economic affairs and the United States secretary of the treasury co-chair the forum. Officials of the central banks of both the United States and Pakistan are also invited to participate in its meetings.

According to the agreement, meetings of the forum will take place once a year. In two years, the two governments will review the performance of the forum and decide whether it should be continued.

“Mr O’Neil appreciated that Pakistan has taken reforms at a time when many countries are going through difficult circumstances,” said Aziz while talking about his meeting with the US treasury secretary.

The US official also informed the Pakistani delegation that the World Bank and International Monetary Fund were happy with the Islamabad’s reform programme and that the Pakistani economy was already showing signs of improvement.

The Pakistani delegation raised the issue of access to the US market, said Aziz. “We intend to hold more talks with the US officials on this issue,” he added.

The finance minister said that remittances from the United States had increased from $300 million to $900 million this year and Pakistan has requested the US Department of Treasury to help facilitate the remittances.

The United States already has an agreement with Mexico for facilitating remittances to that country and Pakistan is looking for a similar arrangement.

The Pakistani delegation to the World Bank meeting also met the heads of the World Bank, IMF and the International Finance Corporation and held bilateral meetings with the delegations from Britain, France, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Sri Lanka, and the Vice-President of Afghanistan, Hidayat Amin Arsala.

They also had a breakfast meeting with the boards of directors of the WB and IMF.

“All these meetings were very useful. We gave them a rundown of our economic reforms. While praising the positive results of these reforms, they urged Pakistan to continue its policies. They insisted that economic success could only be achieved through consistency and continuity,” said Aziz.