Blome apprised of govt’s approach to IMF lending

ISLAMABAD: Ambassador of the United States to Pakistan Donald Blome paid a courtesy visit to Minister for Finance and Revenue Muhammad Aurangzeb at the Finance Division, Tuesday, to discuss important matters related to bilateral cooperation and mutual interests between Pakistan and the United States, said a press release.

Ambassador of the US extended felicitations to Aurangzeb upon his appointment as Minister for Finance and Revenue and conveyed confidence towards further strengthening of economic ties between the two countries.

Aurangzeb warmly welcomed Blome and underscored the significance of Pakistan-US bilateral relations, highlighting their importance at political, economic, and security levels.

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Aurangzeb shared that the new government is fully prepared to tackle the economic challenges and is determined to bring about macroeconomic stability in the country. He reiterated the government’s commitment to completing the ongoing IMF programme and continuing the economic reform process initiated under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) 2019 and Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) 2023, with a focus on achieving fiscal and debt sustainability, social protection, and rebuilding foreign exchange reserves.

Highlighting the priority areas for reforms, Aurangzeb outlined the government’s foremost priority of bringing reforms in the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to prevent revenue leakages through end-to-end digitization, enhancing the State-Owned Enterprise (SOE) reforms, strengthening social protection measures, improving public financial management, implementing energy sector reforms, removing distortionary subsidies, and fostering private sector-led economic growth. Recognizing the United States as one of Pakistan’s largest trading partners and a significant source of foreign direct investment, Minister Aurangzeb expressed appreciation for the economic ties between the two nations.

Ambassador Blome congratulated the government on positive step taken so far that resulted in visibly positive signs in the economy and hoped that it will help further stabilise the economy.

Concluding the meeting, both sides acknowledged the critical nature of the relationship between Pakistan and the United States and expressed the desire to continue enhancing bilateral relations between the two countries.