24 April 2004	Saturday	03 Rabi-ul-Awwal 1425

WASHINGTON, April 23: Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz on Friday said that the Spring Meetings provided an opportunity to meet and hold bilateral discussions with World Bank and International Monetary Fund officials and delegates of other nations, and apprise them of economic achievements of Pakistan.

"There are no issues - nothing. The idea is merely to take the growth to a higher level, and we need everybody's assistance in that connection," Mr Aziz told APP in an interview. The annual Spring Meetings will be held on April 24 and 25.

"In the meetings, we will obviously look at the global financial situation. We will also use this opportunity to have bilateral discussions with various Bretton wood institutions, including heads of the IMF, the World Bank, the IFC, OPIC, EXIM Bank, the USAID, and the people at the Hill, etc."

About his meetings on Thursday, the finance minister said he met chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Senator Ted Stevens, and head of the House Appropriations Committee, Jim Kolbe.

"We also met officials of the economic side of the NSC (National Security Council), besides Deputy-Secretary of Defence, Paul Wolfowitz." The finance minister was accompanied by other members of the Pakistan delegation, besides Ambassador Ashraf Jehangir Qazi.

About his meeting with Congressman Jim Kolbe and Senator Ted Stevens, the minister said the US government had moved fund allocation requests in respect of a $701 million assistance package for Pakistan in the next fiscal year starting October this year. The package aims at providing economic and defence assistance to Pakistan.

Earlier on Thursday, the finance minister also met Ambassador Ashley Wills of the US trade department. The two discussed possibilities of trade and commercial cooperation between the US and Pakistan. On the occasion, Mr Aziz briefed the ambassador about the textile sector of Pakistan and investments made in this sector.

"With Ambassador Ashley, we discussed matter of US-Pakistan investment treaty, the implementation of Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA), and also the various developments on trade negotiations between the United States and various countries," the minister said.

On Friday, he said, the delegation was scheduled to have meetings with Secretary Treasury John Snow, heads of the World Bank and the IMF, Under-Secretary of State for Economic Affairs Allen Larson, and USAID administrator Andrew Natsios. On Saturday evening, the minister said he would have an important meeting with G-7 finance ministers. -APP