Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said Pakistan is planning an investor conference in Washington later this month to attract American investors, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday.
“The sectors are very clear where we seek their investment and where we see a clear investment appetite,” Aurangzeb said in an interview with Bloomberg News in Islamabad. “With respect to the US, as of right now, you’ve just kick-started that process.”
Pakistan and US ties have improved considerably in recent months, as the South Asian country secured the lowest tariff rate in the region-19%-following a trade agreement with the United States, a move expected to boost exports.
Last week, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, alongside Army Chief Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, held a rare meeting with US President Trump at the White House to discuss a broad range of issues.
Ahead of the meeting, the US president, while speaking to the media, called PM Shehbaz and Army chief Asim Munir “great” people.
Meanwhile, bilateral economic links have also grown. Last month, Pakistan and the United States (US) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) worth $500 million “to collaborate on critical minerals production”. The MoU was signed between US Strategic Metals (USSM) and Pakistan’s Frontier Works Organisation (FWO).
Talking to Bloomberg News, Aurangzeb said progress followed a new trade deal with the US, setting a 19% tariff. He said the tariff rate boosted Pakistan’s export competitiveness and helped it emerge from crisis.
“The first thing was to get the trade equation out of the way, which it is now,” Aurangzeb said. “From my perspective, every single industry in Pakistan has to have an export component, because it’s the only way we’re going to get out of this boom-and-bust cycle.”
On the ongoing talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the finance minister said the review of the $7 billion program was “largely on track” with benchmarks, noting that Pakistan had paid off a $500 million Eurobond due Tuesday.
Pakistan and the IMF began talks on Monday for the second review of the $7 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) programme and the first review of the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF), with discussions centring on fiscal performance and governance reforms.
The report noted that global rating agencies, including S&P Global, Fitch, and Moody’s, have upgraded Pakistan’s credit ratings this year, citing stronger finances and revenue gains as some of the reasons for the moves.
It said that investor appetite for Pakistan’s dollar bonds and equities has strengthened. “Its bonds have given nearly 22% returns this year while the benchmark stock index has gained 44% this year, both among the best performers in Asia,” read the report.
Moreover, Bloomberg Economics estimates “growth quickened to 3.4% year-on-year in the second quarter, with official data due next week”. However, it noted that the recent floods may threaten recovery.