In Washington meetings, Aurangzeb pushes Pakistan’s economic, digital agenda

• He commends Dubai Islamic Bank for supporting Pakistan’s Sukuk financing.
• It informs Sharjah and Ajman Banks about Pakistan’s first Panda Bond.
• He discusses the transformation of the digital country with DCO.

Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue, Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb, held a series of meetings in Washington, DC, aimed at deepening economic cooperation and advancing Pakistan’s digital and financial agenda.

Senator Aurangzeb met with Dr Adnan Chilwan, Group Managing Director of Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) and appreciated DIB’s continued partnership as the leading global arranger of Pakistan’s sovereign Sukuk.

The finance minister highlighted the recent Staff Level Agreement (SLA) with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and rating upgrades by international organizations as indicators of Pakistan’s strengthening economic outlook.

He also briefed the CEO on the ongoing privatization of First Women Bank and Pakistan’s focus on diversifying funding into the USD, Panda and Sukuk markets, expressing confidence that he will maintain a strong engagement with DIB.

The minister also met the management of Sharjah Islamic Bank and Ajman Bank, thanking them for their participation in the recent union and support for Pakistan’s economic initiatives.

Aurangzeb briefed the administration on the government’s plan to issue the inaugural Panda Bond in the Chinese market and advised close coordination with the Debt Management Office (DMO) to explore further areas of cooperation.

In a meeting with Dr. Hajar El Haddaoui, Director General of the Digital Cooperation Organization (DCO), Senator Aurangzeb discussed Pakistan’s ongoing digital transformation journey, emphasizing information technology, payment rails and digitization of government payments.

FinMin welcomed the expansion of DCO in Pakistan and highlighted the importance of capacity building, skill development and inclusive digital frameworks.

Finally, Senator Aurangzeb met the delegation of the Foreign Exchange Fund (TCX), led by Chief Investment Officer and Deputy Managing Director Othman Boukrami.

The country’s chief financial officer, briefed on TCX’s activities in providing local currency financing solutions and briefed the team on Pakistan’s plans to extend debt maturity and access international capital markets through Panda Bonds, Eurobonds and International Sukuk.

The finance czar assured the TCX team of detailed monitoring of the submitted proposals to enhance future cooperation.

Aurangzeb also met officials of Fitch Ratings and thanked the agency for upgrading Pakistan’s credit rating to B- with a stable outlook and expressed satisfaction that all three major international rating agencies have now aligned on their ratings.

He briefed the Fitch team on the recently announced SLA with the IMF and highlighted Pakistan’s progress on key structural reforms in taxation, energy, privatization and state-owned enterprises.

He underlined the government’s determination to accelerate the privatization process to enhance efficiency and fiscal sustainability.

Senator Aurangzeb also briefed the group on the government’s ongoing efforts to issue Panda bonds in the Chinese market and referred to successful trade and tariff negotiations with the US government, which resulted in competitive tariff rates for Pakistan.

The meeting concluded with an interactive exchange, during which the finance minister answered questions from the Fitch team and reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to maintaining macroeconomic stability and sustaining the momentum of reforms.