ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue, Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb emphasized the need for the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to embed social protection measures in its lending frameworks.
According to press release the minister stated this during his intervention at the meeting of Managing Director of the IMF with Finance Ministers, Central Bank Governors, and Heads of Regional Financial Institutions of the Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan, and Pakistan (MENAP) region.
He urged the Fund to focus on enhancing climate resilience financing and to continue expanding debt relief and concessional financing mechanisms to support vulnerable nations.
He welcomed the incorporation of emerging challenges such as climate-related risks, domestic public debt, and complex debt restructuring scenarios in the review of the Low-Income Countries Debt Sustainability Framework (LIC-DSF).
Meanwhile, the minister attended a roundtable with institutional investors organized by Jefferies International. He briefed the investors on the positive economic indicators of Pakistan, driven by the successful Stand-By Arrangement (SBA).
He highlighted reforms aimed at increasing the tax-to-GDP ratio, reducing energy sector losses, improving the governance and management of State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs), accelerating privatization, and containing expenditures by right-sizing the federal government.
