Federal Minister for Finance Muhammad Aurangzeb, on Tuesday expressed hope for early approval by the IMF Executive Board of the Staff-Level Agreement (SLA), as he met Director of the Middle East and Central Asia Department at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Jihad Azour on the sidelines of the World Bank\u2013IMF Spring Meetings 2026, according to a post on\u00a0X\u00a0by the finance ministry.<\/p>\n
FinMin held a series of high-level meetings with international financial institutions, US officials, and global business representatives on the sidelines of the World Bank\u2013IMF Spring Meetings 2026\u00a0scheduled from April 13 to 18, focusing on economic reforms, investment and external sector stability on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
During the meeting with the IMF official and the IMF mission to Pakistan, the finance minister \u201cexpressed appreciation for the successful Staff-Level Agreement (SLA)\u201d and said he expected early approval \u201cto sustain the momentum of Pakistan\u2019s reform programme\u201d.<\/p>\n
Aurangzeb also briefed Mr Azour on the economic impact of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, describing it as \u201cone of the most significant supply shocks in recent times\u201d. He said the government was \u201cactively managing the second and third-order effects of the crisis, particularly in relation to economic growth and inflation\u201d.<\/p>\n
The finance minister \u201cunderscored Pakistan\u2019s successful Eurobond repayment\u201d and reaffirmed the government\u2019s commitment to meeting \u201call other bilateral and multilateral external obligations in a timely manner\u201d.<\/p>\n
Both sides discussed progress on fiscal and structural reforms, as well as efforts to enhance revenue mobilisation, and agreed on \u201cthe importance of maintaining macroeconomic stability as a foundation for sustainable and inclusive economic growth\u201d, according to the statement.<\/p>\n
The finance minister also held talks with the Chief Executive Officer of the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD), Sultan bin Abdulrahman Al-Marshad, on the same day and thanked the fund for its \u201ccontinued support and its ongoing and future development cooperation\u201d with Pakistan, a separate post on\u00a0X\u00a0by the ministry stated.<\/p>\n
The two sides discussed \u201cthe implications of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East on global energy security and its potential economic impact\u201d, with Aurangzeb expressing hope for \u201can early resolution of the conflict\u201d and stressing \u201cthe importance of continued cooperation between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia\u201d. They reaffirmed their \u201cstrong and longstanding partnership\u201d and commitment to strengthening economic cooperation.<\/p>\n
Meeting the United States Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, the minister \u201cunderscored the importance of strengthening Pakistan-United States economic relations, particularly through enhanced trade and investment flows\u201d, the finance ministry stated in a post on\u00a0X.<\/p>\n
He emphasised Pakistan\u2019s commitment to \u201cfostering a conducive business environment and improving market access to support sustainable economic partnerships\u201d. Both sides held \u201cconstructive discussions on advancing bilateral trade and investment\u201d, including \u201copportunities to expand market access for exports, facilitate greater investment flows, and deepen commercial linkages\u201d.<\/p>\n
They also \u201cexpressed satisfaction over the steady progress in ongoing trade negotiations\u201d and reaffirmed their commitment to \u201cachieving mutually beneficial outcomes and supporting long-term economic growth\u201d.<\/p>\n
In a separate meeting with Tsutomu Yamamoto of the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), Aurangzeb welcomed a proposed short-term trade finance facility of \u201cup to $500 million\u201d, calling it important for \u201cfinancing of critical imports, including food, fertiliser, energy, and essential machinery\u201d.<\/p>\n
According to the\u00a0post\u00a0by the ministry, Aurangzeb stressed \u201cthe need for expediting progress on the facility to ensure timely support for Pakistan\u2019s external financing requirements\u201d. Referring to arbitration cases, he said MIGA\u2019s \u201cneutral facilitation would contribute towards achieving amicable resolutions, while safeguarding investor confidence and protecting national interests\u201d.<\/p>\n
The minister reaffirmed the government\u2019s commitment to \u201cfostering sustainable investment and maintaining economic stability\u201d and to continuing close cooperation with MIGA.<\/p>\n
Aurangzeb also met Vice President and Global Head of Government Affairs and Public Policy at Google,\u00a0Karan Bhatia,\u00a0where he \u201cappreciated Google\u2019s ongoing initiatives in Pakistan, particularly its training and capacity-building programmes in the field of artificial intelligence\u201d.<\/p>\n
He \u201ccommended the company on the landmark development of local assembly of Google Chromebooks in Pakistan\u201d and its decision to open an office in the country in July 2026. Both sides discussed initiatives to promote AI development \u201cacross key sectors of the economy, including agriculture and manufacturing\u201d, and reaffirmed their commitment to supporting Pakistan\u2019s \u201cbroader digital transformation agenda\u201d.<\/p>\n
Along with meeting counterparts and financial leaders from China, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Turkiye, and the United Kingdom, the finance minister is also expected to meet senior officials of the United States’ State Department and the Department of the Treasury. He will also engage with senior representatives of global financial institutions and corporations, including the leadership of major investment institutions and banks such as Franklin Templeton, Rothschild & Co, Citibank, and JPMorgan Chase.<\/p>\n
The spring meetings will commence under the shadow of the\u00a0war in the Middle East, which has delivered a major shock to the global economy; a concern also raised at the Pakistan Conference, where participants acknowledged that the regional conflict has created a difficult economic environment for most countries.<\/p>\n
IMF and World Bank officials have stated they would downgrade their forecasts for global growth while raising inflation forecasts, warning that emerging markets and developing countries will be hit the hardest by higher energy prices and disruptions in supply chains.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Federal Minister for Finance Muhammad Aurangzeb, on Tuesday expressed hope for early approval by the IMF Executive Board of the Staff-Level Agreement (SLA), as he met Director of the Middle East and Central Asia Department at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Jihad Azour on the sidelines of the World Bank\u2013IMF Spring Meetings 2026, according to …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3888,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3886","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakistantimesusa.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3886","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakistantimesusa.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakistantimesusa.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistantimesusa.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistantimesusa.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3886"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/pakistantimesusa.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3886\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3889,"href":"https:\/\/pakistantimesusa.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3886\/revisions\/3889"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistantimesusa.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3888"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakistantimesusa.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3886"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistantimesusa.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3886"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistantimesusa.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3886"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}