ISLAMABAD: Federal Finance Minister Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb held a series of high-level bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FFD4) in Seville, Spain, with a focus on enhancing Pakistan’s strategic partnerships in development finance, trade, environmental sustainability, and institutional reform.
Representing Pakistan in both the main sessions and multiple side events, Aurangzeb met with key international figures to bolster Pakistan’s global cooperation agenda.
In a detailed discussion with Dutch Finance Minister Elko Heinen, both sides agreed to deepen long-standing bilateral ties. Talks centered on trade, climate resilience, institutional capacity building, and leveraging Dutch expertise in agriculture tech, water management, and digital governance. Aurangzeb thanked the Netherlands for its support in SME development, renewable energy, and ecological agriculture, while Heinen reaffirmed the Netherlands’ support for Pakistan’s reform efforts and encouraged policy continuity and investor-friendly governance.
Aurangzeb also held a meeting with Axel van Trotsenburg, Senior Managing Director of the World Bank, where he acknowledged the Bank’s sustained support and briefed him on Pakistan’s progress under the IMF’s EFF program and the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF). He highlighted the launch of Pakistan’s National Green Taxonomy and welcomed the approval of the new 10-year Country Partnership Framework that prioritises education, environmental protection, financial inclusion, and carbon reduction.
In his meeting with Alvaro Larieu, President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the Finance Minister reviewed Pakistan’s decades-long collaboration with IFAD, which has seen 29 rural development projects benefitting nearly 2.8 million households. Aurangzeb acknowledged the ongoing six IFAD-supported projects in Pakistan and praised their work in areas such as vocational training, value chain development, and climate resilience.
Additionally, Finance Minister Aurangzeb met with International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Secretary General John Denton to discuss trade facilitation, SME growth, investment promotion, and broader economic transformation. Both sides stressed the importance of institutional capacity building and private sector engagement for inclusive economic growth.
