FinMin Aurangzeb laments lack of trade with neighbours

• "We are very keen to join BRICS," says Muhammad Aurangzeb.
• Finance czar says Islamabad wants to join trade organisations.
• Climate resilience financing won't be meaningful if less than $1 bn.

WASHINGTON: As the incumbent government strives to bring economic stability to the country, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb has expressed displeasure over the lack of trade with neighbouring countries, The News reported on Monday.

"Not trading with your neighbours does not make sense," Aurangzeb told the publication while acknowledging that any "political connotations" or "geopolitical discussions" involved were beyond his domain.

"We recently had a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) conference, we are very keen to join BRICS organisation, that is because we want to join trade organisations or corridors and I think that's the right thing to do," remarked the finance czar as he noted that all intergovernmental organisations are essentially "regional corridors".

Separately, speaking at a press briefing at the conclusion of his week-long visit, attending the annual International Monetary Fund (IMF)-World Bank Fall meetings, the minister said that everyone that he met during his time in Washington acknowledged Pakistan's efforts to implement the reform agenda but had also been told to now "stay the course".

Aurangzeb further said that Islamabad opened up discussions with the IMF and World Bank on climate resilience financing as well but if it's "quantum is less than a billion dollars, it would not be meaningful".

He announced that the World Bank has agreed to provide special grants for capacity-building projects. He reiterated that the National Fiscal Pact signed by all the provinces recently was a "structural benchmark" to which Pakistan had agreed to the IMF.

The minister added that Pakistan was gearing up to privatise state owned enterprises (SOEs), even some that are profitable, including Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), and Islamabad Airport after technical evaluations, while three distribution companies (Discos) were already in phase one of the process.

Earlier, the finance minister met China's Vice Minister of Finance, Liao Min, wherein both sides reaffirmed the all-weather strategic cooperative partnership between the two countries.

The minister thanked the government of China for its unwavering support to Pakistan’s socio-economic development and growth, including in securing the IMF’s Extended Fund Facility (EFF).

He apprised Liao Min that the Pakistani government wanted to launch an inaugural Panda bond in the Chinese market to diversify the financing base. He requested the Chinese side to increase the limits under the Currency Swap Agreement to CNY 40 billion.

According to a media brief by the Ministry of Finance, both sides emphasised the need for online settlement of payments and integration of the payment systems of the two countries.