Shamshad meets officials from World Bank, Morroco’s central bank

Caretaker Federal Minister for Finance, Revenue, & Economic Affairs, Dr Shamshad Akhtar, who is on an official visit, held meetings with officials of the World Bank and the Central Bank of Morocco.

Dr Shamshad held a meeting with Anna Bjerde, Managing Director of Operations at the World Bank, on Wednesday.

In a post on social media platform X, Bjerde said the two had discussions on the macroeconomic outlook and stabilisation measures being implemented.

“Encouraged her to stay the course,” Bjerde added.

The caretaker finance minister also held a meeting with the Governor of the Central Bank of Morocco on Wednesday.

“During the meeting, the two financial leaders engaged in substantive discussions, exploring avenues of economic cooperation and exchange of invaluable insights on economic matters of mutual interest, underlining the significance of global financial collaboration,” read a statement released by the Ministry of Finance.

Dr Shamshad alongside Pakistan’s economic team is on an official visit to Morocco to participate in the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank.

Besides participating in the annual meetings of the World Bank and the IMF, the economic team is also likely to meet with the IMF managing director, World Bank president, and Asian Development Bank officials on the sidelines.

Back in July, Pakistani authorities managed to clinch a last-minute $3 billion Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) with the IMF. The first review under the SBA is expected to be held in November.

The IMF has projected the GDP growth rate for Pakistan at 2.5% for 2024 against negative 0.5% in 2023.

Meanwhile, the World Bank projected GDP growth rate for Pakistan at 1.7% for 2023-24 while the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has projected it at 1.9%.