By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb began his program at the World Bank-IMF Spring Meetings on Monday with a pair of high-level discussions focused on deepening international support for Pakistan’s economic agenda amid fresh external pressures from the Middle East conflict.
In his first engagement, Aurangzeb met Anna Bjerde, managing director for operations at the World Bank Group. According to a Finance Division statement, the minister thanked the bank for its continued backing of Pakistan’s reform and development priorities. The two reviewed the country’s current economic situation, with particular attention to the first- and second-order effects of the ongoing Middle East conflict.
Both sides agreed on the need to bolster social protection programs to shield the most vulnerable populations from external shocks. They also assessed progress under the Country Partnership Framework, noting advances in several areas while stressing the importance of sustained efforts to meet its full objectives. Aurangzeb highlighted the necessity of closer coordination between Pakistan’s federal and provincial governments to address the country’s demographic challenges and requested World Bank assistance in preparing a comprehensive master plan for the task. The discussions are expected to further strengthen ties between Islamabad and the bank in social protection and broader economic development.
Later on Monday, Aurangzeb held talks with Makhtar Diop, managing director of the International Finance Corporation, the World Bank’s private-sector arm. The conversation centered on strategies to attract greater private investment and develop Pakistan’s capital markets. The minister outlined the government’s monitoring of and response to the economic fallout from the Middle East conflict. He praised the IFC’s role in mobilizing local-currency financing and called for expanded engagement to spur private-sector activity, boost productivity and generate jobs.
Aurangzeb specifically sought increased IFC support for capital-market development, citing successful approaches in other economies. He expressed appreciation for the corporation’s trade-finance initiatives and its shift toward an originate-and-distribute model that brings in more private capital. The minister also asked the IFC to collaborate with the Prime Minister’s Task Force on Agriculture to promote growth and innovation in the sector. Both sides reaffirmed their strong partnership and commitment to sustainable expansion through private-sector-led development.
Aurangzeb arrived in Washington on Sunday after departing Pakistan on Saturday for the spring meetings, which run through April 18. The gatherings bring together finance ministers, central bankers and private-sector leaders for discussions on global economic and financial stability, including sessions of the International Monetary and Financial Committee. The trip builds on the minister’s appearance Sunday at the Pakistan Conference at Harvard University, where he participated in a panel on Pakistan’s macroeconomic outlook. There he voiced confidence that the country would meet its external debt obligations on schedule and stressed the importance of export-led growth and trade expansion to break the historical pattern of boom-bust cycles and repeated IMF programs, the Finance Division said.
The meetings come as Pakistan seeks to project reform momentum and attract fresh investment while navigating elevated debt levels and global uncertainty. Aurangzeb’s schedule includes further engagements with senior IMF officials, investment roundtables hosted by banks including Jefferies, JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Citigroup Inc., and broader discussions with policymakers, academics and the Pakistani diaspora.
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