Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb says Pakistan has consolidated gains on the macroeconomic stability front.
In an interview with CGTN America, he said the currency is stable and the country’s foreign exchange reserves are sufficient to cover two and a half months of imports.
He also highlighted that the inflation continues in a single digit and policy rate has been halved. He pointed out that global rating agencies have also upgraded country’s credit outlook because of its economic performance.
When asked about relations with China, the Finance Minister said this is a longstanding and iron clad friendship. He said the second phase of CPEC is focused on taking the bilateral trade to the next level and encouraging investments in all areas of mutual interest including minerals and mining, agriculture, AI and IT.
The Finance Minister said that the second review under the IMF’s Extended Fund Facility had recently been completed in Islamabad, resulting in a staff-level agreement. The Fund’s management has expressed continued confidence in Pakistan’s reform agenda, which remains focused on structural adjustments in taxation, energy, public finance and privatization.
Muhammad Aurangzeb observed that improved macroeconomic fundamentals have enabled Pakistan to regain access to international commercial markets after more than two years. The government has recently secured borrowing from Middle Eastern banks and is preparing to issue the country’s inaugural Panda Bond before the end of the year. He said that Pakistan had smoothly repaid a 500 million dollars Eurobond in September and is well positioned to meet the next 1.3 billion dollars repayment due in April next year.
