News Desk |
Finance Minister Asad Umar is in Washington to hold a series of meetings with the IMF and World Bank as part of the IMF/World Bank Spring Meetings 2019. He and his team arrived in the US on Tuesday.
Umar met the new head of the World Bank David Malpass and briefed him on Pakistan’s macroeconomic situation. They also discussed continuation of Pakistan’s ongoing engagement with the bank. Malpass appreciated the reform process in the country and assured continued World Bank support.
The companies expressed their interest in Pakistan’s market and shared their future plans as well as issues where they needed support from the government.
During his meeting, World Bank officials assured him of cooperation with Pakistan. He also met officials of the IMF, including IMF First Deputy Managing Director David Lipton, and spoke about the ongoing negotiations with the IMF. Pakistan is currently negotiating an aid package from the IMF. Pakistani officials have said negotiations are in the final phase.
The finance minister also met members of the US Pakistan Business Council and assured them that the government is working to facilitate foreign investors. “We are trying to make it easier for foreign companies to invest in Pakistan”, he told companies like Facebook, Uber, Procter & Gamble, Coca Cola and Pepsico at a roundtable conference.
Read more: Asad Umar: Talks with IMF to continue but no need to…
The companies expressed their interest in Pakistan’s market and shared their future plans as well as issues where they needed support from the government. He said Prime Minister Imran Khan was personally monitoring the reform process in this regard.
The article had input by Sana Mushtaq.