FinMin says Pakistan has rebuilt fiscal buffers, eyeing sustainable growth at Doha Forum

Finance Minister Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb delivered a confident message of economic stabilization and long-term reform at the Doha Forum, telling a high-level panel that Pakistan “has rebuilt fiscal buffers, restored external balance and is now shifting decisively from stabilization to sustainable development.”

Speaking at the “Global Trade Tensions: Economic Impact and Policy Responses in MENA” session on Saturday, the minister said Pakistan was “on the right path of reform and resilience”, crediting the post-IMF reform program for easing pressures at a time when global trade disruptions, tariff changes and Middle Eastern geo-economics are repositioning the Middle East.

“This period of uncertainty calls for adaptability,” Aurangzeb said, noting Pakistan’s prudent engagement with the US on tariff measures, securing a relatively favorable 19 percent duty on key textile exports and accelerating both market and product diversification.

Qatari Finance Minister Ali Bin Ahmed Al Quwari called Pakistan a “sister country” and affirmed that the GCC-Pakistan Free Trade Agreement, the first such FTA the Gulf bloc has concluded in years, will usher in a new phase of regional trade flows.

Calling the FTA a “major strategic milestone”, he said the agreement would deepen Pakistan-Gulf cooperation in energy, agriculture, textiles and increasingly advanced technologies.

Al Kuwari highlighted Pakistan’s rising talent pool in the field of artificial intelligence and digital sectors, saying Qatar is keen to collaborate on artificial intelligence, digital infrastructure and skill development.

IMF Deputy Managing Director Bo Li praised Pakistan for “significant steps” in fiscal discipline and building resilience. He reiterated the Fund’s commitment through the $1.3 billion Resilience and Sustainability Facility, which supports green budgeting, climate risk assessments and climate-resilient infrastructure financing.

Reading: Chief Minister Shehbaz lauds Punjab development projects, says PML-N ready for ‘historic results’ in next polls

Aurangzeb warned, however, that climate change was a more immediate existential threat than geopolitics, noting that this year’s floods alone had reduced Pakistan’s GDP by 0.5 percent.

He also pointed to Pakistan’s “third largest global base of freelancers”, saying the next digital leap, from basic coding to artificial intelligence and blockchain, could increase earnings from $10–12 per hour to $60–250 for specialized skills.

Later in the day, Aurangzeb and Al Kuwari held a meeting where both sides pledged to operationalize the opportunities created by the FTA and deepen LNG, trade and technology cooperation.

The two ministers agreed to create structured mechanisms for cooperation in artificial intelligence capacity building, climate resilience and investment facilitation.

In a separate panel, discussing the evolving US-China relationship, Hina Rabbani Khar, Chairwoman of the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, warned that the selective use of economic and human rights sanctions is fragmenting the global system.

The debate looked at how countries, especially across the Global South, are balancing their ties with both Washington and Beijing amid growing rivalry, and whether the emerging landscape is drifting towards fragmentation or a more pluralistic order.