ISLAMABAD - Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb on Monday emphasised the importance of structural reforms within the framework of the IMF programme.
The minister had a meeting with the Founder & Chairman Delivery Associates Sir Michael Barber at Finance Division. Sir Michael Barber appreciated the Federal Budget 2024-25 and the structural reforms in taxation implemented by the government of Pakistan. Recognizing the challenges involved, he discussed the priority areas of Pakistan’s homegrown economic plan. Sir Michael reaffirmed the commitment to continuing support, building on previous collaborative efforts with Pakistan.
The finance minister thanked Sir Michael for his acknowledgment and appreciated the support of UK government. He outlined key priority areas for the government comprising of taxation reforms, energy sector reforms, and restructuring of State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs). Emphasizing the importance of structural reforms within the framework of the IMF program, the federal minister highlighted initiatives aimed at enhancing exports, attracting foreign direct investment (FDI), and the privatization efforts. He underscored the government’s focus on export-led growth and the digitalization of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to ensure transparency and expand the tax base.
The meeting concluded with a commitment to enhance collaboration between both parties, focusing on mutual strategic goals and sustainable economic development. The meeting was also attended by Development Director British High Commission Ms Jo Moir, Senior Governance Advisor Matt Clancy, Governance Advisor BHC Naveed Aziz, Senior Economic Advisor Louie Dane and officials from Finance Division. Meanwhile, in other development, CEO K-Electric Syed Moonis Abdullah Alvi accompanied by CFO KE Muhammad Aamir Ghaziani and Chief Regulatory Affairs Muhammad Imran Qureshi called on Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb at Finance Division.
The representatives from K-Electric stated that the agreement signed between the government and KE earlier this year had addressed a number of issues and KE was now vigorously working on implementing the new generation projects to improve its electricity mix. The delegation raised the issue of delayed payments of KE’s consumer bills collected through the post office. Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb assured the K-Electric delegation that the matter of delayed payments would be addressed. He asked the KE team to focus on improving service delivery in Karachi and to expedite its plan for adding cheaper generation capacity, so that the cost of electricity could be brought down.
