FinMin says Pakistan has replenished its fiscal reserves, eyes sustainable growth at Doha Forum

Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb, Minister of Finance, projected a confident message of economic stabilization and forward-looking reform at the Doha Forum, telling a high-level panel that Pakistan has “rebuilt its fiscal reserves, restored its external balance and is now decisively moving from stabilization to sustainable growth.”

Speaking at the session “Global Trade Tensions: Economic Impact and Policy Responses in the MENA Region”, the minister said on Saturday that Pakistan is “set on the right path of reform and resilience”, crediting the revamped post-IMF agenda for easing pressures at a time when global trade disruptions, tariff changes and PK Press Club-economic rivalries are reshaping the economies of the Middle East and North Africa.

“This period of uncertainty requires adaptability,” Aurangzeb said, highlighting Pakistan’s cautious engagement with the United States on tariff measures, securing a relatively favorable 19 percent tariff on major textile exports and accelerating market and product diversification, including fast-growing IT services exports expected to reach $4 billion this year.

Qatar Finance Minister Ali Bin Ahmed Al Kuwari called Pakistan a “brotherly country” and confirmed that the GCC-Pakistan Free Trade Agreement, the first such FTA concluded by the Gulf bloc in years, would pave the way for a new phase in regional trade flows.

Calling the FTA a “major strategic milestone”, he said the agreement would deepen Pakistan-Gulf cooperation in energy, agriculture, textiles and, increasingly, advanced technologies.

Al Kuwari highlighted Pakistan’s growing talent pool in the AI ​​and digital sectors, saying Qatar was keen to collaborate in the areas of artificial intelligence, digital infrastructure and skills development.

IMF Deputy Managing Director Bo Li congratulated Pakistan for making “significant progress” in fiscal discipline and building resilience. He reiterated the Fund’s commitment through the $1.3 billion Resilience and Sustainability Fund, which supports green budgeting, climate risk assessments and financing for climate resilient infrastructure.

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Aurangzeb, however, warned that climate change posed a more immediate existential threat than geopolitics, pointing out that this year’s floods alone reduced Pakistan’s GDP by 0.5 percent.

He also reported that Pakistan is “the world’s third-largest base of independent workers”, saying the next digital leap, from basic coding to AI and blockchain, could boost earnings from $10-12 an hour to $60-$250 for specialist skills.

Later in the day, Aurangzeb and Al Kuwari held a meeting during which both sides committed to operationalizing the opportunities created by the FTA and deepening cooperation on LNG, trade and technology.

The two ministers agreed to create structured mechanisms for collaboration in AI capacity development, climate resilience and investment facilitation.

On another panel, discussing the evolving relationship between the United States and China, Hina Rabbani Khar, chair of the National Assembly’s standing committee on foreign affairs, warned that the selective use of economic sanctions and human rights was fragmenting the global system.

The discussion examined how countries, particularly those in the South, are balancing their ties with Washington and Beijing amid growing rivalry, and whether the emerging landscape is drifting toward fragmentation or a more pluralistic order.