Finance Minister Aurangzeb underscored the centrality of climate financing for a country like Pakistan and the imperative of operationalizing institutions including the Loss and Damage Fund
Finance Minister Aurangzeb Conducts Successful Economic Diplomacy during Washington Visit
By Elaine Pasquini
In Washington, DC, where he is attending the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB), Pakistan’s Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Muhammad Aurangzeb welcomed “successful negotiations with the US administration leading to a tariff deal.” He expressed these sentiments on October 13, 2025, during a meeting with Robert Kaproth, Assistant US Treasury Secretary for International Finance, and Counselor Jonathan Greenstein.
During the meeting, the finance minister highlighted the strong economic fundamentals of Pakistan underpinned by the IMF assistance program of September 2024. He briefed the Treasury officials about the legislation to regulate virtual assets in the country and also invited US companies to invest in the oil and gas, mineral, agriculture and IT sectors in Pakistan.
Later in the day, Finance Minister Aurangzeb was hosted by the leadership and members of the US-Pakistan Business Council where he briefed the participants about improvements on the macroeconomic indicators of Pakistan. He also underlined that the private sector must lead the country.
The finance minister reiterated that the government of Pakistan was conscious of the challenges being faced by the businesses and is working to provide maximum relief. He highlighted the trade deal negotiated with the US authorities, saying he looked forward to enhanced government to government and business to business engagements with US companies in priority sectors including mines and minerals, agriculture, IT and pharmaceuticals. In the concluding Q&A, he assured the group he would address their genuine concerns.
In addition, Aurangzeb met with representatives of CitiBank, acknowledging its long-standing partnership with Pakistan and stressed his appreciation of the bank’s continued engagement. He also provided an overview of Pakistan’s stabilizing macroeconomic indicators driven by ongoing structural reforms, validated by all international credit rating agencies. Further, he highlighted Pakistan’s emergence as a growing hub for digital innovation and financial services and assured the bank that Pakistan would review all proposals it presented.
The finance minister began his official engagements of the day in a meeting with Riccardo Puliti, regional vice president of the World Bank’s International Financial Corporation (IFC) for the Middle East, Central Asia, Türkiye, Afghanistan and Pakistan. During the meeting, the minister highlighted the strong macroeconomic indicators of Pakistan.
Aurangzeb emphasized the importance of the IFC’s partnership with Pakistan, its role in scaling up private sector investment including through multi-billion-dollar investments in support of the 10-year Country Partnership Framework (CPF). He agreed to achieve early financial closure of the IFC's flagship Reko Diq copper and gold mine project. He also welcomed the opening of IFC’s new regional office in Islamabad.
In a productive meeting with Muhammad Sulaiman Al-Jasser, president of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB), the finance minister reviewed the current portfolio of the bank’s projects in Pakistan, underscoring the importance of faster project implementation. He also thanked the bank for its longstanding assistance and support to Pakistan, especially for the IDB’s assistance in polio eradication efforts in his country.
The Commonwealth Finance Ministers Meeting (CFMM) which focused on “Strengthening Economic Resilience Amidst International Policy Shifts” was an important event the finance minister attended on the sidelines of the IMF and WB gathering.
The CFMM is an annual program that takes place alongside the IMF and WB meetings where finance ministers from the voluntary association of 56 independent and equal countries discuss matters of mutual concern.
In his address to the meeting, Finance Minister Aurangzeb emphasized the importance of prioritizing actions and focusing on delivery to move towards the goal of a resilient and prosperous Commonwealth.
He also supported measures for operationalizing the Commonwealth infrastructure, the Financial Resilience Hub and Technical Assistance Fund for peer review and capacity building.
Importantly, Finance Minister Aurangzeb further underscored the centrality of climate financing for a country like Pakistan and the imperative of operationalizing institutions including the Loss and Damage Fund.
(Elaine Pasquini is a freelance journalist. Her reports appear in the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs and Nuze.Ink.)
