Reforms and boost export-led growth: Pakistan committed to leveraging private sector: Aurangzeb

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb said that the government is committed to leveraging private sector expertise to fast-track structural reforms and promote productivity and export-led economic growth.

Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb said this while having a meeting on Monday with a high-level delegation from Deloitte, led by Richard Longstaff, Managing Director and Head of Energy, Critical Minerals, and Sofyan Yusufi, Partner at Deloitte Risk and Financial Advisory Government and Public Services.

The meeting was a follow-up to earlier discussions held on the sidelines of the IMF/ World Bank Spring Meetings 2025 in Washington DC, where avenues for collaboration in critical minerals, energy sector reforms, privatization, and the operationalisation of the Country Partnership Framework (CPF) were explored.

Welcoming the Deloitte team to Pakistan, the Finance Minister appreciated their continued engagement and interest in supporting Pakistan’s development priorities. He

The meeting focused on the operationalisation of the CPF and leveraging Deloitte’s technical advisory and global experience for Pakistan’s ongoing initiatives, which should be outcome based and standardised, streamlined project development in different sectors, including health, climate, energy, mining and minerals and the public-private initiatives.

The delegation apprised the Minister of their upcoming meetings with key stakeholders, including officials from the World Bank (WB), Asian Development Bank (ADB), and the Economic Affairs Division (EAD).

The Finance Minister shared insights from his recent meeting with World Bank President Ajay Banga, highlighting Pakistan’s commitment to responsible and transparent utilisation of financing.

He reaffirmed that the government is focused on two overarching national priorities climate resilience and population management both of which are being supported through significant funding, including the recently approved Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF) of $1.3 billion. “At this stage of our reform journey, what Pakistan needs is not financing, it is strategic, tactical support and global expertise from our bilateral and multilateral partners,” remarked the Minister.

The meeting also included an in-depth discussion on structuring future collaboration and defining key priority areas where Deloitte’s assistance could be instrumental.

The Deloitte team expressed strong appreciation for the positive economic indicators emerging from Pakistan and reiterated their commitment to working closely with the Government of Pakistan to support its reform and development agenda.

The meeting concluded with both sides agreeing to maintain close coordination in the weeks ahead and to work jointly on identifying actionable, high-impact, outcome based initiatives that align with Pakistan’s economic development and transformation vision.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2025