IMF chief heaps praise on FinMin Aurangzeb for 'staying on course' despite hurdles

• This is indeed the right trajectory to travel: Kristalina Georgieva.
• IMF chief thanks Muhammad Aurangzeb for his dedication.
• Finance minister calls for fundamental change in economy's DNA.
  

ISLAMABAD: International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva has lauded Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb for staying on course despite facing difficulties, The News reported on Tuesday.

"I want to share a secret with the audience that the minister likes his job despite facing all difficulties," Kristalina praised Aurangzeb while hosting a high-level panel discussion on the second day of AlUla Conference 2025 "A Path for Emerging Market Resilience" in Saudi Arabia.

"This is indeed the right trajectory to travel and I thank [him] for his dedication to stay on the course," she said.

The two-day event — organised by the IMF and the Saudi Ministry of Finance — aimed to foster discussions on building resilience and sustainable economic growth amid global economic uncertainties.

Meanwhile, speaking at an occasion earlier, Aurangzeb, said the debt to GDP ratio had been brought down from over 73% to the mid-60s and Pakistan would make it sustainable as it moved forward.

He said the country would move towards export-led growth to achieve sustainability.

"Pakistan will have to fundamentally change the DNA of the economy," he added. On this point, the IMF's managing director said it was the right trajectory to move forward.

Lot to learn from Saudi Vision 2030

Separately, the finance czar, as per an Arab News report, emphasised that Saudi Arabia's leadership in economic reforms offers important lessons for Pakistan as it embarks on its own structural changes.

"Pakistan and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have been long-standing partners, one of the strongest partnerships that we have," reads the report citing Aurangzeb.

"As we go through our own structural reforms at this point in time, on the back of the macroeconomic stability that we have achieved, there’s a lot to learn from Vision 2030," the minister said.

He also said that the kingdom is well ahead of its targets of Vision 2030, "so there's so much to learn in Pakistan from our partners in Saudi Arabia".

The finance minister also highlighted the growing Saudi investments in Pakistan, particularly in the business-to-business sector.

He pointed to recent developments such as Saudi Aramco's foray into the downstream petroleum industry and ongoing talks concerning government-to-government agreements.

"We've already had a few investments coming through from Saudi Arabia in the B2B space, and then of course, we have just seen Aramco coming into downstream, so these are all very, very good investments," noted the finance minister.

"There are a number of G2G transactions which are underway at this point in time to be announced later in the year."

Aurangzeb further underscored the potential for boosting exports from Pakistan to Saudi Arabia, especially in the skilled labour sector. He noted that this aligns with the Kingdom's expanding workforce needs as it progresses toward its Vision 2030 objectives.

"Meanwhile, we remain grateful for the support that we have received from Saudi Arabia, especially with respect to our IMF programme," the federal minister further remarked.