ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: The Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Muhammad Aurangzeb held a meeting with the delegation of Standard & Poor’s (S&P) Global Rating Agency led by Directors of Sovereign & International Public Finance Ratings Yee Farn Phua and Andre David Wood at the Finance Division in Islamabad on Wednesday.
The meeting was also attended by senior officials of the ministry.
The finance minister welcomed the S&P delegation and gave an update on Pakistan’s current economic situation.
The minister highlighted the successful completion of the nine-month Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the improving macroeconomic indicators of Pakistan.
Muhammad Aurangzeb highlighted some of the indicators including building up of foreign exchange reserves to US$ 9.4 billion, robust performance of the stock exchange, declining trend of inflation rates with the CPI Inflation clocking at 12.6 percent in June 2024, and increase in foreign remittances by 7.7 percent as compared to last year.
The finance minister emphasized the government’s efforts to broaden the tax base as tax collection during the Financial Year 2024 increased by 30 percent as compared to FY 2023 and also further improve the tax-to-GDP ratio.
The going reforms in the energy sector, and State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) including privatization were discussed.
Furthermore, the finance minister underscored the confidence shown by multilateral institutions through their financing for various projects in Pakistan.
Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb also informed the delegation that Pakistan is currently holding talks with the IMF on a new medium term program to support Pakistan’s economic reform agenda.
The Finance Secretary reiterated the stable yet optimistic outlook and elaborated on the economic reform agenda of the government which is reflected in the FY 2025 budget.
The delegation from S&P Global appreciated the fiscal measures adopted by the Government of Pakistan and acknowledged the improvement in economic indicators.
 Global Rating Agency led by Directors of Sovereign & International Public Finance Ratings Yee Farn Phua and Andre David Wood at the Finance Division in Islamabad on Wednesday.){kind=link}