Focus on recovery, reforms as Aurangzeb meets IMF, World Bank heads
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WASHINGTON: Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb met the heads of the IMF and World Bank on Monday to kick off a series of high-level consultations in Washington.
Mr Aurangzeb is in the US capital to attend the 2025 Spring Meetings of the IMF and the World Bank Group, which brought together finance ministers and central bank governors from 191 countries to address global challenges such as sovereign debt, climate finance and reforming the international financial system.
The delegation, led by the finance minister, is scheduled to meet officials of global financial institutions, development partners, and major bilateral creditors.
Discussions with the IMF and World Bank chiefs focused on Pakistan’s economic recovery plan, structural reforms, and the future of ongoing programmes.
Diplomatic sources told Dawn that the talks were “constructive”.
Mr Aurangzeb’s meeting with the IMF managing director, Kristalina Georgieva, was expected to positively influence the creditor’s review of Pakistan’s $7 billion Extended Fund Facility.
Pakistan is seeking the release of a second tranche of $1 billion. An IMF review mission is due in Pakistan on May 14.
Mr Aurangzeb also met the World Bank president, Ajay Banga, to discuss development financing and Pakistan’s medium-term reform priorities, including fiscal consolidation and energy sector reforms.
The minister has had half a dozen meetings since arriving in Washington on Sunday.
Some key engagements scheduled over the coming days include talks with Chinese, US, Saudi Arabia, UAE and European officials, as well as with commercial banks, global credit rating agencies, and multilateral lenders such as the Asian Development Bank.
A meeting with Chinese Finance Minister Lan Fo’an later this week will focus on Pakistan’s request to reschedule the debt of $3.4bn — an effort to ease pressure on the country’s foreign financing needs.
Mr Aurangzeb is also expected to meet senior US Treasury officials, including Robert Kaproth, the assistant secretary for International Finance, and James C. Cruse, the acting president of the US Exim Bank.
A central item on the agenda will be the $3bn financing gap for the Reko Diq copper and gold project.
The Exim Bank has expressed interest in offering $1bn in loan, contingent on receiving preferential creditor status — a condition that Pakistan has not yet agreed to.
The finance minister is also scheduled to engage with Mohamed Nasheed, the secretary general of the Climate Vulnerable Forum, for discussions on climate finance and disaster resilience.
On Monday, Mr Aurangzeb also met the representatives of Deloitte, one of the Big Four accounting firms, and briefed them on Pakistan’s macroeconomic outlook, development priorities, and export-led growth agenda.
The discussions included energy reforms, the extraction and marketing of critical minerals, privatisation, technology and crypto regulation, and the operationalisation of the Country Partnership Framework.
The minister welcomed Deloitte’s planned visit to Pakistan in May 2025.
Officials in Washington have said that Pakistan’s objective during the talks was not only to secure funding but also strengthen long-term partnerships that support sustainable economic reforms.
Published in Dawn, April 22nd, 2025
