
Reforms and boost export-led growth: Pakistan committed to leveraging private sector: Aurangzeb
ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb said that the government is committed to leveraging private sector expertise to fast-track structural reforms and promote productivity and export-led economic growth.
Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb said this while having a meeting on Monday with a high-level delegation from Deloitte, led by Richard Longstaff, Managing Director and Head of Energy, Critical Minerals, and Sofyan Yusufi, Partner at Deloitte Risk and Financial Advisory Government and Public Services.
The meeting was a follow-up to earlier discussions held on the sidelines of the IMF/ World Bank Spring Meetings 2025 in Washington DC, where avenues for collaboration in critical minerals, energy sector reforms, privatization, and the operationalisation of the Country Partnership Framework (CPF) were explored.
Welcoming the Deloitte team to Pakistan, the Finance Minister appreciated their continued engagement and interest in supporting Pakistan's development priorities. He
The meeting focused on the operationalisation of the CPF and leveraging Deloitte's technical advisory and global experience for Pakistan's ongoing initiatives, which should be outcome based and standardised, streamlined project development in different sectors, including health, climate, energy, mining and minerals and the public-private initiatives.
The delegation apprised the Minister of their upcoming meetings with key stakeholders, including officials from the World Bank (WB), Asian Development Bank (ADB), and the Economic Affairs Division (EAD).
The Finance Minister shared insights from his recent meeting with World Bank President Ajay Banga, highlighting Pakistan's commitment to responsible and transparent utilisation of financing.
He reaffirmed that the government is focused on two overarching national priorities climate resilience and population management both of which are being supported through significant funding, including the recently approved Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF) of $1.3 billion. 'At this stage of our reform journey, what Pakistan needs is not financing, it is strategic, tactical support and global expertise from our bilateral and multilateral partners,' remarked the Minister.
The meeting also included an in-depth discussion on structuring future collaboration and defining key priority areas where Deloitte's assistance could be instrumental.
The Deloitte team expressed strong appreciation for the positive economic indicators emerging from Pakistan and reiterated their commitment to working closely with the Government of Pakistan to support its reform and development agenda.
The meeting concluded with both sides agreeing to maintain close coordination in the weeks ahead and to work jointly on identifying actionable, high-impact, outcome based initiatives that align with Pakistan's economic development and transformation vision.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Business Recorder
2 hours ago
- Business Recorder
LCIA trial: Pakistan govt may pursue out-of-court settlement with Star Hydro
ISLAMABAD: The government is likely to pursue an out-of-court settlement with the Star Hydropower Project, which initiated arbitration proceedings at the London Court of International Arbitration in October 2024, according to sources in the Finance Ministry. The issue was reportedly discussed during Finance Minister Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb's visit in April 2025, where he met with Hiroshi Matano, Executive Vice President of the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA). Matano emphasized the importance of resolving the matter through negotiation. The Star Hydropower Project is a 147 MW run-of-the-river plant located 120 kms northeast of Islamabad on the Kunhar River. The project operates under a 30-year Build-Own-Operate-Transfer (BOOT) model. MIGA, a member of the World Bank Group, has provided a political risk guarantee to a South Korean equity investor in the project, KDS Hydro Pte. Ltd., against breach of contract by the Government of Pakistan. Rating upgrade: MIGA mulls $500m trade finance guarantee package Sources said the Finance Ministry has convened a high-level meeting to explore options for an amicable settlement with the power company to avoid further legal and financial complications. In April 2024, an arbitration award under the MIGA - covered Government of Pakistan (GoP) guarantee was issued in favor of Star Hydro. Pakistan was given three weeks from April 17, 2024, to fulfill the payment obligations. Failure to pay would allow the investor to initiate enforcement proceedings, and if unsuccessful, MIGA's guarantee holder could file a claim under the breach of contract coverage. The dispute dates back to September 2022 when Star Hydro initiated arbitration under the GoP Guarantee after the National Transmission and Despatch Company (NTDC) — the state-owned power off-taker—refused to honor an earlier arbitration award. That award ordered NTDC to pay significant sums for liquidated damages caused by delays in the project's commercial operation date. The amounts included: (i) Rs. 2.02 billion in delay-related invoices; (ii) $16.45 million in principal damages; (iii) $2.73 million in partial legal costs; and (iv) £51,180 in arbitration costs. These remain unpaid. Under the terms of the MIGA guarantee, Pakistan is obligated to pay the awarded amounts. If it fails to do so within 180 days, MIGA would be required to compensate the investor, creating an international obligation for Pakistan. Notably, MIGA has never had to pay a claim under its breach of contract risk in its history. Should that change, the implications for Pakistan could be significant, both financially and diplomatically. The Finance Ministry is therefore weighing a negotiated settlement to mitigate potential long-term consequences and uphold Pakistan's international financial commitments, the sources added. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025


Business Recorder
4 hours ago
- Business Recorder
Aurangzeb departs for Spain to participate in ‘FFD4'
ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Muhammad Aurangzeb departed from Islamabad today (Monday) for Seville, Spain, to participate in the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FFD4), being held from July 1 to 3, 2025, said a press release issued on Monday. The high-level global conference will bring together leaders, policymakers, and international development experts to explore innovative and sustainable financing strategies to accelerate progress towards Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly for developing and emerging economies. During the visit, the Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb will represent Pakistan in the main conference sessions and a range of high-level side events. On July 1, he will co-chair the Multi-Stakeholder Roundtable on 'Leveraging Private Business and Finance,' and deliver a keynote address at the International Business Forum Policy Dialogue on 'Accelerating EMDEs Investment: The Role of Credit Ratings.' He is also scheduled to address the General Debate of the conference and participate in the roundtable discussion on 'Revitalizing International Development Cooperation.' As part of a UNICEF-hosted side event, the minister will speak on 'Driving Capital Towards Children and Young People: A Dialogue on Innovative and Sustainable Financing for Children.' During the conference, Aurangzeb will also attend and speak as chief guest at a special session titled, 'Swapping Out Debt for Development: The DCS Financing Approach,' where he will outline Pakistan's perspectives on debt transformation and the potential of deposit protection mechanisms to support development finance. He will also be a panelist at the International Business Forum's side event on 'Scaling up SME Finance,' focusing on enhanced financial inclusion for small and medium-sized enterprises. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025


Business Recorder
4 hours ago
- Business Recorder
UN chief urges aid surge in world of ‘climate chaos, raging conflicts'
SEVILLE, (Spain): UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged the world to 'rev up the engine of development' at an aid conference in Spain on Monday at a time when US-led cuts are jeopardising the fight against poverty and climate change. Dozens of world leaders and more than 4,000 representatives from businesses, civil society and financial institutions are gathering in the city of Seville for the June 30-July 3 conference to seek fresh impetus for the crisis-hit aid sector. But the United States is snubbing the biggest such talks in a decade, underlining the erosion of international cooperation on combating hunger, disease and climate change. Guterres told delegates at the opening of the conference that two-thirds of United Nations sustainable development goals set for 2030 were 'lagging' and more than $4.0 trillion of annual investment would be needed to achieve them. US President Donald Trump's gutting of his country's development agency, USAID, is the standout example. But Germany, Britain and France are also making cuts while they boost spending in areas such as defence. International charity Oxfam says the cuts to development aid are the largest since 1960. More than 800 million people live on less than $3.0 a day, according to the World Bank, with rising extreme poverty affecting sub-Saharan Africa in particular. Disruption to global trade from Trump's tariffs and ongoing conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine have dealt further blows to the diplomatic cohesion necessary for concentrating efforts on helping countries escape poverty. The crisis meant children going unvaccinated, girls dropping out of school and families suffering hunger, said Guterres. He urged the international community to 'change course' and 'repair and rev up the engine of development to accelerate investment' in 'a world shaken by inequalities, climate chaos and raging conflicts'. A blistering heatwave that is scorching southern Europe welcomed the delegates to the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development, an example of the extreme weather that scientists say human-driven climate change is fuelling. Kenya's William Ruto, Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye, Ecuador's Daniel Noboa, Angolan leader Joao Lourenco and Sudanese army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan were among prominent Global South leaders in Seville. Among the key topics up for discussion is reforming international finance to help poorer countries shrug off a growing debt burden that inhibits their capacity to achieve progress in health and education. The total external debt of the group of least developed countries has more than tripled in 15 years, according to UN data. Critics have singled out US-based bulwarks of the post-World War II international financial system, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, for reform to improve their representation of the Global South. Painstaking talks in New York in June produced a common declaration to be adopted in Seville that only went ahead after the United States walked out. The document reaffirms commitment to the UN development goals such as eliminating poverty and hunger, promoting gender equality, reforming tax systems and international financial institutions. The text also calls on development banks to triple their lending capacity, urges lenders to ensure predictable finance for essential social spending and for more cooperation against tax evasion. Coalitions of countries will seek to spearhead initiatives in addition to the so-called 'Seville Commitment', which is not legally binding. But campaigners have criticised the text for lacking ambition and have rung alarm bells about rising global inequality. Hundreds of demonstrators braved the sizzling heat in Seville on Sunday to demand change in international tax, debt and aid policies. 'Global South countries will never be able to decide how they want to do development if they are bound to the new colonial debt,' protester Ilan Henzler, 28, told AFP.