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Aurangzeb urges global push to revive development cooperation at FfD4

Aurangzeb urges global push to revive development cooperation at FfD4

Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb has called for a renewed global commitment to revitalising international development cooperation to meet the aspirations of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Speaking at a Multistakeholder Round Table during the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4) in Sevilla, Spain, the federal minister emphasised that such revitalisation is not merely desirable but essential at this pivotal juncture for global development.
In his remarks, Aurangzeb laid out a comprehensive three-pronged strategy to effectively implement the Sevilla Outcome and foster meaningful progress, read a statement released by the Ministry of Finance on Wednesday.
As a first step, the federal minister stressed the need for urgent execution of priority actions to transition from pledges to tangible delivery.
'This, he noted, must involve greater country ownership of development agendas, with national strategies taking precedence over donor-driven models. Aligning frameworks with domestic priorities is key to ensuring sustainability and relevance on the ground.'
Aurangzeb calls for equitable global financial reforms
Aurangzeb further underscored the importance of expanding access to concessional and blended financing—particularly for climate initiatives and Sustainable Development Goals (SDG)-related investments—in order to catalyse private capital in fiscally constrained developing countries.
He called for a thorough reform of the global financial architecture, urging multilateral development banks, international financial institutions, and credit rating agencies to better reflect countries' reform efforts, climate vulnerabilities, and developmental ambitions in their lending terms and assessments.
Aurangzeb also highlighted the need for a paradigm shift in how development cooperation is approached within developing countries themselves.
He advocated moving away from input-focused models towards strategies that are results-oriented and linked to measurable development outcomes. He urged the integration of cross-cutting themes such as climate resilience, gender equity, and digital inclusion into development plans, while emphasising the need to scale up South-South and triangular cooperation through context-specific, peer-driven solutions rather than externally imposed frameworks.
As a third key measure, the minister proposed the establishment of global delivery mechanisms to accelerate the implementation of the Sevilla Commitments.
'These could include expanded blended finance platforms designed to de-risk private investment through instruments such as guarantees, first-loss capital, and outcome-linked bonds.'
Additionally, the Minister recommended setting up a dedicated global facility or task force tasked with monitoring and fast-tracking the Sevilla action agenda, complete with timelines, assigned responsibilities, and robust accountability systems.
Concluding his address, Aurangzeb reaffirmed Pakistan's commitment to fostering inclusive and results-driven partnerships.
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ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Finance on Friday notified grant of ad hoc relief of 10 percent and 30 percent grant of Disparity Reduction Allowance-2025 to the employees of the federal government. The ministry issued an office memorandum which stated that the President has been pleased to sanction with effect from 01.07.2025 and till further orders, an Ad hoc Relief Allowance-2025 @ 10 per cent of running basic pay to Armed Forces Personnel, Civil Armed Forces and to all the Civil Employees of Federal Government as well as the civilians paid from Defence Estimates and contract employees employed against civil posts in basic pay scales on standard terms and conditions of contract appointment. The amount of Ad-hoc Relief Allowance-2025: i. will be subject to Income Tax; ii. Will be admissible during leave and entire period of LPR except during extra ordinary leave; iii. Will not be treated as part of emoluments for the purpose of calculation of pension/gratuity and recovery of house rent; iv. Will not be admissible to the employees during the tenure of their posting/deputation abroad; and v. Will be admissible to the employees on their repatriation from posting/deputation abroad at the rate and amount which would have been admissible to them had they not been posted abroad. Employees demand reasonable salary increase The term 'basic pay' for the purpose of Ad-hoc Relief Allowance-2025 will also include the amount of the personal pay granted on account of annual increment (s) beyond the maximum of the existing pay scales. The above Ad-hoc Relief Allowance-2025 shall be accommodated from within the budgetary allocation for the year 2025-26 by the respective ministries/divisions/departments and no supplementary grants shall be allowed on this account. Another office memorandum issued by the Finance Ministry stated that the President has been pleased to sanction with effect from 01 .07.2025 grant of Disparity Reduction Allowance (DRA) @ 30 per cent of basic pay as on 30.6.2022 to the officers/officials in BPS-1 to 22 who are already drawing DRA on the same terms and conditions provided under Finance Division's No. 14(1)R-312021-69, dated 23.02.2022and OM No FNo 14(1)R3l2o21dated 19th July 2022. For those employees who have been appointed on or after 1-7-2022, this allowance will be admissible on the basis on relevant initial basic pay scale of 2017. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025

4th International Conference on Financing for Development Debt and Climate — II
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4th International Conference on Financing for Development Debt and Climate — II

Sadly, unlike the lack of media coverage, and very little discussion of policy circles on this – both on the government, and opposition sides, and in the academic arena – the '4th International Conference on Financing for Development' (FFD4) holds utmost importance. This is because it is not only taking placing after ten years, but at a time when both adequate level of finance for fighting the existential threat of climate change crisis is urgently needed, and also when it is very important to deal with fast brewing sovereign debt crisis in a number of developing countries, including Pakistan. 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In December 2024, the United Nations Secretary-General formed an 'Expert Group on Debt' to provide an informed analysis to FFD4 so that proper deliberation could take place in this regard in this Conference, which took place during June 30 – July 3. The Report from this expert group titled 'Confronting the debt crisis: 11 actions to unlock sustainable financing' while highlighted that 'The global financing landscape has evolved significantly, and not in favor of the developing world' and that 'Instead of funding schools and hospitals, or job creation, developing countries are trapped in a vicious cycle of rising interest payments and shrinking fiscal space, privileging their debt service payments over their investment for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).' Moreover, the Report while rightly highlighting the severity of debt crisis pointed out: 'What has been called a 'silent' debt crisis is silent no more. 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Least developed countries (LDCs) are particularly hard-hit, with the ratio of public and publicly guaranteed (PPG) external debt service to government revenue nearly doubling to 14.6% between 2013 and 2023. …The rising cost of debt servicing is preventing many developing countries from rolling over existing debt and investing in critical sectors. …In 2024, the number of people living in countries that spend more on interest payments than on critical social services such as health and education increased by 100 million, to 3.4 billion people. A staggering 5.6 billion people live in countries which experienced deteriorating public sector debt dynamics between 2017 and 2023, a period where increases in interest costs outpaced growth in government revenues in over two-thirds of developing countries. …Looking ahead, the situation is likely to deteriorate further. Global growth is slowing, with projections for 2025 revised downward to 2.3–2.8%, compared to earlier estimates of 2.7–3.3%. 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Moreover, among proposed commitments with regard to augmenting 'global economic governance' included, for instance, that 'We encourage the International Monetary Fund Board of Governors to explore further quota share realignment to enhance developing countries' voice and better reflect members' relative position in world economy, while protecting the shares of the poorest members, under the seventeenth General Review of Quotas.' 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