ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb has departed for Washington to take part in the annual International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank meetings starting today, Monday, state-run media reported, where he is also expected to hold bilateral meetings with counterparts from China, Saudi Arabia, UAE and other countries.
Global finance chiefs will gather in Washington this week amid intense uncertainty over wars in the Middle East and Europe, a flagging Chinese economy and worries that a US presidential election could ignite new trade battles and erode multilateral cooperation.
The IMF and World Bank annual meetings are scheduled to draw more than 10,000 people from finance ministries, central banks and civil society groups to discuss efforts to boost patchy global growth, deal with debt distress and finance green energy transition.
“Federal Minister of Finance and Revenue, Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb, here on Sunday departed for the United States to participate in the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB),” state broadcaster Radio Pakistan said.
It said that the minister will meet high-ranking IMF and World Bank officials during his trip.
“He will also meet with his counterparts from China, the United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Turkiye,” the state broadcaster said.
Aurangzeb will engage with top officials from the US State and Treasury Departments, global credit rating agencies and commercial banks, particularly investment banks from the Middle East, the state media said.
“The Minister will address investment forums and seminars, sharing Pakistan’s economic outlook, and visit renowned US think tanks,” Radio Pakistan said. “He will also interact with selected international and American media representatives.”
Pakistan has frequently turned to the IMF for multi-billion loan programs in the past to sustain its fragile $350 billion economy. The South Asian country in July agreed to a $7 billion IMF deal, its 24th payout from the global lender since 1958, in exchange for unpopular reforms including cutting back on power subsidies and widening its chronically low tax base.
Last year it came to the brink of default as the economy took a plunge amid political chaos following catastrophic 2022 monsoon floods as well as a global economic downturn.
