Aurangzeb addresses London moot

Listen to article
Minister for Finance and Revenue, Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb, delivered a keynote address at the Jefferies' 'Pakistan Access Day' interactive conference co-hosted by KTrade Securities in London on Thursday.
The event brought together a distinguished audience comprising top global institutional investors, senior executives from leading international banks, investment firms, and professionals from both the public and private sectors, said a press release received here today.
The Advisor to the Prime Minister on Privatisation, Muhammad Ali, also attended and addressed the forum, which served as a vital platform to showcase Pakistan's economic progress and investment outlook to the international business community.
Senator Aurangzeb underscored the government's firm commitment to macroeconomic reform and structural transformation and the government's resolve to stay the course to bring permanence to this macroeconomic stability.
He stated that the country had made substantial progress toward achieving macroeconomic stability, with key economic indicators now reflecting improved resilience and discipline. "We have successfully navigated a period of significant external and domestic challenges, and Pakistan today stands on the foundation of restored macroeconomic stability," the Minister noted. "Through bold and far-reaching reforms, we have reinstated fiscal discipline, strengthened our external position, and rebuilt investor confidence."
He highlighted that Pakistan posted a primary budget surplus of Rs3.6 trillion during the first half of FY2025, while inflation has seen a remarkable decline—reaching just 0.3% in April 2025, the lowest level recorded in over a decade. These gains, he added, have been acknowledged internationally with Fitch upgrading Pakistan's sovereign credit rating from CCC+ to B-, reflecting renewed market confidence.
Looking ahead, Senator Aurangzeb outlined Pakistan's ambitious economic targets, including 6% annual GDP growth by persisting with structural reforms in taxation, energy, SOEs, privatisation, pension and public finance, an expansion of exports to $ 50 billion, inflation moderation to 6%, and the development of a $5 billion ICT freelancing industry.
Additionally, Pakistan aims to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 50%, raise the share of renewable energy to 10%, and reduce income poverty by 13%, he added.
He emphasised that these goals are embedded within the Government's comprehensive "5Es Framework"—focusing on Exports, E-Pakistan (IT), Environment & Climate Change, Energy & Infrastructure, and Equity, Ethics, and Empowerment.
The Finance Minister reaffirmed the Government's policy of limiting its role to providing a robust and consistent policy framework, while allowing the private sector to take the lead in driving growth. He pointed to increasing private sector representation in top policy forums as a testament to this approach. Further, Senator Aurangzeb detailed the ongoing efforts to improve the investment climate in Pakistan.
He highlighted the Investment Policy 2023, which offers clear protections and incentives for foreign investors, and the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC), which serves as a streamlined "one-window" platform for expediting investment processes.
"We are committed to making Pakistan's investment ecosystem more transparent, efficient, and investor-friendly," he said.
"Over 160 regulatory reforms have already been implemented under the Pakistan Regulatory Modernisation Initiative (PRMI), and we are launching the Pakistan Business Portal to simplify business registration and approvals through digital integration."
Additionally, he noted that Pakistan's reformed visa regime now allows for 24-hour e-visas for citizens of 126 countries—further facilitating international business engagement. Addressing the gathering, Advisor to the Prime Minister on Privatisation, Muhammad Ali, presented a detailed overview of the privatisation roadmap for state-owned entities (SOEs).
He emphasised the transparency and competitiveness of the ongoing processes and highlighted the significant investment opportunities with attractive returns available across various sectors of the Pakistani economy. Ali reaffirmed that the Government's privatisation drive is focused on ensuring efficient service delivery and unlocking value for the public while creating a favourable environment for private capital.
The conference concluded with renewed optimism and expressions of interest from international stakeholders, affirming Pakistan's strategic relevance and potential in the global economic landscape.

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

Business Recorder

5 hours ago

• Business Recorder

PPP delegation meets Fazl

ISLAMABAD: A delegation of senior leaders of Pakistan People's Party (PPP), Saturday, met with Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F) Chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman and discussed Budget-2025-26 and the political situation of the country. The PPP delegation comprised Khursheed Ahmad Shah, Qamar Zaman Kaira, and Chaudhry Manzoor. Haroon Mehmood, Mufti Abrar Ahmed participated in the meeting. The PPP delegation also inquired about the well-being of Maulana Asjad Mahmood. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025

Business Recorder

5 hours ago

• Business Recorder

TDAP holds seminar on ‘Wood Identification' at SCCI Peshawar

PESHAWAR: A seminar titled 'Wood Identification, Quality Assessment and Export Procedure' was organized by the E&M-Division-II of Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) at Sarhad Chamber of Commerce & Industry (SCCI), Peshawar. The event was held in collaboration with SCCI and was well attended by a large number of renowned business representatives from the furniture sector of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The seminar included inaugural remarks, technical presentations and an interactive question-and-answer session. After the formal opening by the TDAP, the President of SCCI and the Chairman of the Furniture Association (KP Chapter) in their speeches highlighted key challenges faced by the furniture industry in business promotion and increasing exports. The technical session featured three presentations. Dr Zahid Rauf and Dr Tanveer Hussain from the Pakistan Forest Institute provided detailed insights on wood identification and quality assessment. From TDAP, Nadia Farooqui, Director and Zahid Mohammad, Deputy Director shared valuable information on international trade and export procedures relevant to the furniture industry. The seminar was highly informative and well appreciated by all participants. Responding to feedback from the attendees, the President of SCCI emphasized the need for TDAP to continue organizing such capacity-building sessions, particularly on topics such as e-commerce and digital marketing. During the seminar, participants also discussed key issues hindering furniture exports. These included the non-functional status of the Pakistan Furniture Institute in Hayatabad and the absence of allocated land for the establishment of a dedicated Furniture City. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025

Business Recorder

5 hours ago

• Business Recorder

NIBAF, Risk Associates sign MoU

KARACHI: National Institute of Banking and Finance-Pakistan (NIBAF Pakistan) and Risk Associates have formalised a landmark partnership on Saturday through signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), aimed at strengthening the cybersecurity and compliance readiness of the financial sector in Pakistan. The signing ceremony was held at the Risk Associates regional office in Karachi. The agreement was signed by Lubna Farooq Malik, Co-CEO of NIBAF-Pakistan and Dr Aftab Rizvi, CEO of Risk Associates, in the presence of senior leadership from both organisations. The MoU establishes a strategic framework through which both institutions will collaborate to develop and deliver advanced training programs, advisory services, and capacity-building initiatives focused on cyber risk, governance, digital forensics, and compliance with international standards including PCI DSS and ISO/ IEC 27001. Lubna Malik while emphasizing the critical significance of cyber risk for the financial industry observed that the financial industry stands at the forefront of profound digital transformation and, consequently, must also be at the very forefront of protecting itself. In this context, she highlighted that the collaboration between NIBAF and Risk Associates would benefit industry professionals, especially in the banking sector, by enhancing their cybersecurity skills and knowledge through capacity building. Dr Aftab Rizvi: 'Together with NIBAF-Pakistan, we are delivering forward-looking training that empowers banking professionals to anticipate, adapt, and respond to dynamic threats with operational precision and confidence.' Copyright Business Recorder, 2025