CT Newsroom
Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb ensured that the hard-earned macro-stability has further strengthened the country’s economy. Prudent economic policies have proven considerably significant for economy improvement, he added.
Reportedly, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, while talking to the media on Sunday, ensured improvement in the country’s economy. He claimed that recent figures show a considerable decline in inflation.
While giving an interview, he said, “There is a reduction of inflation from 38 percent to just seven percent and the policy rate from 22 percent to 15 percent, while foreign exchange reserves have surged from two weeks of import cover to 2.5 months of import cover.”
He talked about his visit to Washington, DC, in October. He discussed details of meetings and discussions with delegations of multilateral institutions in Washington. “The international community, financial institutions, and rating agencies had commended the government’s efforts in leading the country’s economy from deficits to surpluses,” he stated.
“We were given a platform there to share with the comity of nations how we achieved this turnaround in just 14 months,” he further said.
Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb cleared the speculations about the visit of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission to Pakistan by stating, “We shared the country’s economic road map with officials of the international financial institution. Such interactions and discussions are vital for mutual credibility and trust. We have also shared with the IMF our commitment towards the rightsizing of the federal government.”
Aurangzeb further clarified that he welcomed the Fund mission’s visit. The unscheduled visit was to discuss the first review of the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and a $7-billion bailout within six weeks of its approval by the IMF board.
It is worth mentioning here that Muhammad Aurangzeb dismissed the news of the possibility of additional tax measures. He also stated, “I have been very clear right from the beginning that we will engage with rating agencies at the highest level in the government because we need to know where we are and where we are heading.”
