Dr. Shamshad Akhtar, the interim federal minister for finance, revenue, and economic affairs, met with representatives of the World Bank (WB) and the Moroccan Central Bank while in Morocco on an official visit.
Shamshad meets officials from World Bank: On Wednesday, Dr. Shamshad met with Anna Bjerde, Managing Director of Operations at the WB.
Bjerde’s social media post on X discussed their conversation regarding the macroeconomic outlook and the ongoing implementation of stabilization measures.
“Encouraged her to stay the course,” Bjerde continued.
On Wednesday, the interim finance minister met with the governor of the Moroccan Central Bank.
According to a statement issued by the Ministry of Finance, “during the meeting, the two financial leaders engaged in substantive discussions, exploring avenues of economic cooperation and exchange of invaluable insights on economic matters of mutual interest, underscoring the significance of global financial collaboration.”
Dr. Shamshad is travelling on official business to Morocco with members of Pakistan’s economic delegation to attend the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) annual meetings.
The economic team will likely meet with the president of the World Bank, the managing director of the IMF, and representatives from the Asian Development Bank in addition to taking part in the annual meetings of both organisations.
Back in July, Pakistani officials were able to quickly reach an agreement with the IMF for a $3 billion Stand-By Arrangement (SBA). The SBA’s initial evaluation is anticipated to take place in November.
Additionally, The IMF predicted that Pakistan’s GDP growth rate would reach 2.5% in 2024, a significant improvement from the negative 0.5% recorded in 2023.
While the Asian Development Bank (ADB) predicted a 1.9% GDP growth rate for Pakistan for the years 2023–24, the World Bank predicted 1.7%.