ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue, Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb appreciated Pakistani diaspora on their valuable contributions in bolstering economic, business and investment ties between Pakistan and the United States.
During an interaction with diaspora leaders, the minister briefed them on the socioeconomic developments in Pakistan and shared details of his week-long engagements in Washington DC, according to press release issued by finance ministry here Sunday.
The minister, during an interaction with Pakistani-American tech entrepreneurs, identified IT as one of the burgeoning sectors of the economy and informed that Pakistan ranked among top five countries in terms of freelancing.
He highlighted the contribution of IT sector to the rising exports of the country and informed that digital ecosystem was being enabled through a broad range of legislative, policy, regulatory and operational initiatives.
He expressed satisfaction over the outcome of his engagements with different stakeholders on the sidelines of the Annual Meetings 2024 and underlined the importance of staying the course on reforms.
The minister also met with the President of AIIB, Jin Liqun and acknowledged the Bank’s support to Pakistan, particularly in dealing with the aftermath of the devastating floods of 2022.
He recalled his previous visit to China where he interacted with the management of Peoples Bank of China (PBOC). He indicated that government wanted to diversify its financing base and explore the possibility of issuing a panda bond with partial credit guarantee of AIIB.
He added that engaging AIIB as an anchor to support the process would send out a strong signal to the market.
The option of a no-deal roadshow first followed by a deal roadshow was also discussed. He expressed satisfaction over the progress of portfolio of AIIB projects in Pakistan and further efforts to improve the disbursement of ongoing projects.
On the infrastructure side, he invited AIIB to invest in N-5 (GT Road) reconstruction project and also provide support in terms of program loan for dealing with the impacts of climate change and disaster preparedness.
He also welcomed the upcoming visit of Vice President (Operations) wherein issues of mutual interest would be discussed and portfolio of ongoing projects reviewed and pipeline firmed up.
He invited the President to visit Pakistan which he accepted at mutually convenient dates to be decided later.