Daily Times

Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb has said that the government expected minimal devaluation of the rupee following talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), a report by Bloomberg said.

The finance minister is currently in Washington to attend the spring meetings organised by the IMF and the World Bank (WB). He said that the rupee typically depreciates between 6% and 8% during a typical year.

“I don’t see the need for any step change,” Aurangzeb said, citing solid foreign exchange reserves, a stable currency, rising remittances, and steady exports. He added that previous IMF loans to Pakistan had resulted in massive rupee devaluations, but this time, the outcome was expected to be different.

“The only thing which can be a wild card, although in our projections we should be okay, is the oil price,” he said. The minister also expressed Pakistan’s commitment to ensuring sustainable economic development and growth.

The finance czar pointed out the three key reform areas of taxation, energy, and privatization, adding that the agricultural sector performed better during the current fiscal year.

The major economic indicators of Pakistan including remittances showed better results, the minister said and added that the government was committed to engaging in a broader expansion program with the IMF.

He further said that Islamabad expected an IMF delegation to visit the country in May for a staff-level agreement on the next loan programme by the end of June or early July.

Separately, Pakistan’s reform agenda came under discussion during a high-level meeting between Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb and United States State Department Assistant Secretary Donald Lu.

The two dignitaries explored broadening tax base, energy sector streamlining, and privatisation during the huddle at the World Bank headquarters in Washington on Wednesday.

Ambassador Lu, flanked by State Department’s Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Elizabeth Horst in the meeting, reaffirmed Washington’s commitment to bolster ties between the US and Pakistan.

Aurangzeb and the US official focused on upgrading economic partnerships, with emphasis on alternate energy, agriculture, climate resilience and tech industry.

The Pakistani minister identified American investment opportunities in information technology, renewables, agriculture and minerals extraction. He also pledged close collaboration with the US International Development Finance Corporation and Exim Bank for mutual development. In a separate meeting, Scott Nathan, the US International Development Finance Corporation (USIDFC) chief, said Washington is invested in Pakistan – including in clean energy, financial inclusion, and flood relief.

“… and we are eager to invest further”, Nathan wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

In his post, the USIDFC chief added that avenues for growing the portfolio between Pakistan and the US came under discussion in his meeting with Minister Aurangzeb and Pakistan’s Ambassador Masood Khan.

The finance czar mulled over the prospects of widening USIDFC’s investment in Islamabad and “amicable resolution of outstanding issues” in the meeting.