Dr. Shamshad Akhtar, the Caretaker Federal Minister for Finance, Revenue, & Economic Affairs, is currently on an official visit to Morocco, where she engaged in meetings with officials from the World Bank (WB) and Morocco’s Central Bank.
On Wednesday, Dr. Shamshad held a meeting with Anna Bjerde, Managing Director of Operations at the World Bank. They discussed Pakistan’s macroeconomic outlook and the stabilization measures being implemented. Bjerde expressed her encouragement for Pakistan to continue on its current path.
Additionally, the caretaker finance minister had a meeting with the Governor of Morocco’s Central Bank on the same day. During this meeting, the two financial leaders engaged in substantive discussions, exploring avenues of economic cooperation and sharing valuable insights on economic matters of mutual interest, underscoring the importance of global financial collaboration.
Dr. Shamshad and Pakistan’s economic team are visiting Morocco to participate in the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank. Alongside these meetings, the economic team is expected to meet with the IMF managing director, World Bank president, and officials from the Asian Development Bank.
In July, Pakistani authorities secured a last-minute $3 billion Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) with the IMF. The first review under the SBA is scheduled for November.
The IMF has projected a GDP growth rate of 2.5% for Pakistan in 2024, following a projected -0.5% growth rate in 2023. The World Bank, on the other hand, has projected a GDP growth rate of 1.7% for Pakistan in 2023-24, while the Asian Development Bank (ADB) forecasts a growth rate of 1.9%. Pakistan is actively engaged in discussions with international financial institutions to stabilize and strengthen its economy.
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