Finance minister calls for swift action on climate resilience at IMF talks
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Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue, Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb, has called for urgent international action on climate resilience and economic diversification during high-level engagements at the 2025 Spring Meetings of the World Bank Group (WBG) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Washington, DC.
Speaking at the dialogue for the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage (FRLD), Aurangzeb termed climate change an existential threat to Pakistan, citing the 2022 floods.
He urged the swift operationalisation of the Loss and Damage Fund with simple, agile, and accountable mechanisms to ensure timely disbursement to vulnerable countries.
In a series of bilateral meetings, Aurangzeb discussed foreign investment, economic reform, and climate financing.
In talks with Hiroshi Matano, Executive Vice President of the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), the minister expressed appreciation for MIGA's role in resolving the Star Hydro project dispute and welcomed its planned mission to Pakistan later this year.
He also met Thomas Lersten, a senior US State Department official, thanking Washington for its support at the Pakistan Minerals Conference and underscoring the need to resolve tariff challenges.
Aurangzeb said a high-level trade and investment delegation from Pakistan would soon visit the United States to deepen economic cooperation.
During discussions with International Finance Corporation (IFC) Managing Director Makhtar Diop, the minister highlighted Pakistan's improving macroeconomic indicators, including Fitch's recent credit rating upgrade.
He called for fast-tracking IFC advisory support for Karachi Airport and capacity-building at the subnational level.
In a meeting with the United States Export-Import Bank, Aurangzeb briefed senior officials on fiscal reforms and Pakistan's progress under the IMF's Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF).
He urged greater support for US investment in strategic sectors, including the Reko Diq project.
He also held talks with JP Morgan Chase, where he reaffirmed Pakistan's stable macroeconomic outlook and plans to diversify markets.
The minister expressed Pakistan's readiness to re-enter international capital markets through a Panda Bond issuance.
At an IMF panel titled 'Navigating an Uncertain World,' Aurangzeb emphasised the importance of regional trade, economic diversification, and export-led growth, with a special focus on the technology and IT sectors as growth engines.
Later, the minister discussed development finance with Dev Jagadesan, Acting CEO of the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), and met Baroness Jenny Chapman, UK Minister of State for International Development.
Aurangzeb thanked the UK for its longstanding development partnership and shared progress on the World Bank's 10-year Country Partnership Framework for Pakistan, which prioritises climate resilience and population strategies. He also lauded the UK's REMIT initiative to improve transparency in development aid.
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