ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue, Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb, on Wednesday held a meeting with United States Trade Representative (USTR) Ambassador Jamieson Greer to review progress on the ongoing negotiations aimed at strengthening bilateral trade and economic cooperation between the two countries.
Recalling the recent discussions in Washington, DC, the finance minister welcomed the steady progress made by the respective negotiating teams and appreciated the constructive engagement that has characterized the dialogue over the time.
Both sides noted that negotiations on the proposed reciprocal trade framework have advanced significantly and reaffirmed their shared commitment to concluding the agreement at the earliest.
During the meeting, the finance minister highlighted the importance of maintaining the momentum of negotiations in view of Pakistan’s economic priorities. He emphasized that a strengthened trade and investment partnership with the United States would contribute to Pakistan’s export-led growth strategy, support economic resilience, and create greater commercial opportunities for businesses in both countries. He also underscored the importance of continued collaboration with the U.S. Export-Import Bank (EXIM) to facilitate bilateral trade and investment.
Ambassador Greer acknowledged Pakistan’s continued engagement throughout the negotiations and appreciated the progress made on labour and regulatory reforms, including measures relating to forced labour compliance. He reaffirmed the United States’ commitment to sustaining the positive trajectory of bilateral trade discussions and expressed confidence that the remaining issues could be resolved through continued technical engagement.
FinMin Aurangzeb emphasized the importance of maintaining close coordination and accelerating technical-level discussions to build on the progress already achieved. Both sides expressed satisfaction with the progress achieved and agreed to continue working closely to finalize the remaining elements of the framework and agreed to continue regular engagement with a view to concluding the reciprocal trade framework soon, further strengthening the longstanding economic partnership between Pakistan and the United States.
The meeting was also attended by Federal Secretary for Commerce, Jawad Paul, and senior team members of the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR).
