Pakistan’s Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue, Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb, held a detailed meeting with Zou Jiayi on the sidelines of the World Bank–IMF Spring Meetings 2026, focusing on investment cooperation, economic reforms, and infrastructure development.
During the meeting, the finance minister congratulated Zou Jiayi on assuming office and acknowledged the active role of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank in Pakistan, where the bank currently maintains an investment portfolio of around 1.7 billion US dollars, with another 1 billion dollars in the pipeline.
Senator Aurangzeb highlighted Pakistan’s recent return to international capital markets, including the issuance of a Eurobond through private placement after a four-year gap, terming it a key indicator of improving macroeconomic stability. He also pointed to the country’s first-ever Panda bond issuance as part of efforts to diversify financing sources.
The finance minister briefed the AIIB leadership on regional geopolitical tensions and their impact on Pakistan’s energy supply chain, stressing the need for resilient economic planning.
He further outlined Pakistan’s long-term development frameworks, including the 10-year Country Partnership Framework with the World Bank and a five-year strategy with the Asian Development Bank, focusing on population growth, climate resilience, and fiscal stability.
Senator Aurangzeb urged AIIB to align its future engagements with Pakistan’s infrastructure priorities and welcomed its multi-year lending pipeline, describing it as essential for structured project implementation over the medium term.
Both sides acknowledged challenges in project execution, noting that Pakistan’s disbursement performance with AIIB has lagged behind other multilateral partners such as the World Bank and ADB.
In response, the finance minister informed that the Prime Minister has formed four dedicated working committees to address key bottlenecks, including procurement, land acquisition, compliance, and disbursement issues.
Reaffirming the government’s commitment, Aurangzeb emphasized ongoing reforms aimed at improving institutional efficiency and ensuring timely completion of development projects.