ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb wrapped up the fourth day of his visit to Washington, D.C. for the SpringMeetingsof theInternationalMonetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, holding a series of high-level meetings with leading financial institutions, rating agencies and multinational corporations.

The finance minister began his engagements with Visa`s regional vice president, Andrew Torre. Mr Aurangzeb praised the credit card company`s contribution to Pakistan`s digitalisation efforts and the expansion of its financial products, according to a press release issued by the finance ministry on Friday.

He welcomed Visa`s decision to triple the size of its Pakistan office and its collaborations with 1Link and PayPak, describing them as key drivers for financial inclusion, e-commerce growth, transaction security and payment gateways. The minister assured Mr Torre of the government`s full support in resolving operational matters.

Mr Aurangzeb later met Christos Harpantidis, vice president of Philip Morris International.

Addressing a seminar hosted by JP Morgan on `Pakistan`s Economic and Monetary Policy Outlook`, Mr Aurangzeb briefed institutional investors on the country`s stable macroeconomic indicators. He pointed to recent twin surpluses, declining inflation, robust foreign exchange reserves and prudent debt management, which contributed to Fitch`s recent upgrade of Pakistan`s sovereign credit rating.

During a meeting with Masato Kanda, presi-dent of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Mr Aurangzeb congratulated Mr Kanda on his recent appointment and acknowledged the ADB`s ongoing partnership with Pakistan, particularly through the Country Partnership Strategy 2026-30 and budgetary support initiatives.

Both sides discussed the ADB`s project pipeline and committed to accelerating project implementation. The minister also sought ADB`s support for a partial credit guarantee to facilitate the Panda bond issuance and expressed hope for further budgetary assistance this year. He assured Mr Kanda of Pakistan`s participation in the CAREC meeting scheduled for November.

Mr Aurangzeb held separate discussions with the credit rating agencies Fitch Ratings and Moody`s, thanking Fitch for upgrading Pakistan`s rating to Band updating both agencies on structural reforms in energy, taxation and debt management.

In talks with Moody`s, he highlighted Pakistan`s economic progress, including low inflation, fiscal surpluses and record remittances, as well as reforms to broaden the tax base. On trade, he reiterated Pakistan`s commitment to constructive engagement with the US administration.

In a meeting with Sangbu Kim, World Bank`s vice president for digital transformation, the finance minister outlined Pakistan`s progress under the Digital Pakistan Policy, especially the digitalisation of the Federal Board of Revenue. He called for greater horizontal integration across government entities and sought the bank`s support in implement-ing the Country Partnership Framework through technological collaboration.

At the Vulnerable 20 (V20) Ministerial Dialogue on `Enabling Climate Prosperity`, Mr Aurangzeb outlined Pakistan`s Climate Financial Strategy and the development of a Climate Prosperity Plan.

He highlighted the recent IMF staff-level agreement under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility and noted the World Bank`s 10-year framework, which prioritises climate resilience and decarbonisation.

The minister called for reforms in global financial structures to better support climatevulnerable nations and emphasised the need for capacity-building to develop bankable climate projects.

Mr Aurangzeb also addressed members of the Pakistan Bank-Fund Staff Association, briefing them on improved macroeconomic indicators and the successful IMF agreements under the Extended Fund Facility and Resilience and Sustainability Facility. He discussed the World Bank`s decade-long framework to address Pakistan`s population and climate challenges and reiterated the government`s commitment to structural reforms.

The minister also met Jihad Azour, the IMF`s director for the Middle East and Central Asia, thanking the lender for its support. He cited Fitch`s sovereign credit rating upgrade as validation of the country`s progress.

Mr Aurangzeb ended his visit with a meeting with a Standard Chartered Bank delegation led by Roberto Hoornweg, and briefing them on Pakistan`s macroeconomic stability.-APP