• Meets officials from financial institutions, rating agencies
• Welcomes Visa’s commitment to Pakistan’s digitalisation
• Briefs JP Morgan’s seminar, Fitch and Moody’s on structural reforms

ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb wrapped up the fourth day of his visit to Washington, D.C. for the Spring Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, holding a series of high-level meetings with leading financial institutions, rating agencies and multinational corporations.

The finance minister began his engagements with Visa’s regional vice president, Andrew Torre. Mr Aurangzeb praised the credit card company’s contribution to Pakistan’s digitalisation efforts and the expansion of its financial products, according to a press release issued by the finance ministry on Friday.

He welcomed Visa’s decision to triple the size of its Pakistan office and its collaborations with 1Link and PayPak, describing them as key drivers for financial inclusion, e-commerce growth, transaction security and payment gateways. The minister assured Mr Torre of the government’s full support in resolving operational matters.

Mr Aurangzeb later met Christos Harpantidis, vice president of Philip Morris International.

Addressing a seminar hosted by JP Morgan on ‘Pakistan’s Economic and Monetary Policy Outlook’, Mr Aurangzeb briefed institutional investors on the country’s stable macroeconomic indicators. He pointed to recent twin surpluses, declining inflation, robust foreign exchange reserves and prudent debt management, which contributed to Fitch’s recent upgrade of Pakistan’s sovereign credit rating.

During a meeting with Masato Kanda, president of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Mr Aurangzeb congratulated Mr Kanda on his recent appointment and acknowledged the ADB’s ongoing partnership with Pakistan, particularly through the Country Partnership Strategy 2026-30 and budgetary support initiatives.

Both sides discussed the ADB’s project pipeline and committed to accelerating project implementation. The minister also sought ADB’s support for a partial credit guarantee to facilitate the Panda bond issuance and expressed hope for further budgetary assistance this year. He assured Mr Kanda of Pakistan’s participation in the CAREC meeting scheduled for November.

Mr Aurangzeb held separate discussions with the credit rating agencies Fitch Ratings and Moody’s, thanking Fitch for upgrading Pakistan’s rating to B- and updating both agencies on structural reforms in energy, taxation and debt management.

In talks with Moody’s, he highlighted Pakistan’s economic progress, including low inflation, fiscal surpluses and record remittances, as well as reforms to broaden the tax base. On trade, he reiterated Pakistan’s commitment to constructive engagement with the US administration.

In a meeting with Sangbu Kim, World Bank’s vice president for digital transformation, the finance minister outlined Pakistan’s progress under the Digital Pakistan Policy, especially the digitalisation of the Federal Board of Revenue. He called for greater horizontal integration across government entities and sought the bank’s support in implementing the Country Partnership Framework through technological collaboration.

At the Vulnerable 20 (V20) Ministerial Dialogue on ‘Enabling Climate Prosperity’, Mr Aurangzeb outlined Pakistan’s Climate Financial Strategy and the development of a Climate Prosperity Plan.

He highlighted the recent IMF staff-level agreement under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility and noted the World Bank’s 10-year framework, which prioritises climate resilience and decarbonisation.

The minister called for reforms in global financial structures to better support climate-vulnerable nations and emphasised the need for capacity-building to develop bankable climate projects.

Mr Aurangzeb also addressed members of the Pakistan Bank-Fund Staff Association, briefing them on improved macroeconomic indicators and the successful IMF agreements under the Extended Fund Facility and Resilience and Sustainability Facility. He discussed the World Bank’s decade-long framework to address Pakistan’s population and climate challenges and reiterated the government’s commitment to structural reforms.

The minister also met Jihad Azour, the IMF’s director for the Middle East and Central Asia, thanking the lender for its support. He cited Fitch’s sovereign credit rating upgrade as validation of the country’s progress.

Mr Aurangzeb ended his visit with a meeting with a Standard Chartered Bank delegation led by Roberto Hoornweg, and briefing them on Pakistan’s macroeconomic stability.

Published in Dawn, April 26th, 2025