Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb told US Ambassador Donald Blome on Thursday that the government’s macroeconomic reforms are a “work in progress.”

According to a statement released by the Finance Division, Aurangzeb made these remarks during a meeting with the US envoy at the Finance Division.

Matters of mutual interest and bilateral cooperation were discussed, read the statement.

During the meeting, Aurangzeb “pointed to more serious challenges of climate change and child stunting which threatened to perpetuate inequalities and disrupt the pace of economic growth and stability in Pakistan over the medium to long term”, the statement read.

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He informed Blome that Pakistan looked forward to building climate resilience through adaptation reforms and averting malnutrition with the technical and financial support of development partners to ensure holistic development goals.

Aurangzeb reiterated the government’s resolve to carry on with broad-based reforms on taxation, energy and SOE fronts. He said the government was committed to raising the country’s tax-to-GDP ratio to 13.5% by plugging leakages and bringing untaxed sectors in the net.

He informed the government had approved a comprehensive transformation plan for Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and brought in experts on the board of PRAL (IT arm of FBR).

Non-filers, CFOs of wealthy units: Pay taxes, avoid input adjustment misuse, says Aurangzeb

Meanwhile, Blome appreciated Pakistan’s efforts to improve macroeconomic stability and lauded the government for initiating challenging and bold reforms, particularly in the taxation and energy sectors.

According to the Finance Division release, the US envoy reaffirmed his commitment to enhancing bilateral cooperation in technical and development initiatives and promoting high-quality US investment for the economic growth of Pakistan.