FinMin says Pakistan has rebuilt fiscal buffers and sees sustainable growth at Doha Forum

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

Speaking at the ‘Global Trade Tensions: Economic Impact and Policy Responses in MENA’ meeting on Saturday, the minister said Pakistan is ‘starting on the right path of reform and resilience’, crediting the post-IMF overhaul of the program for easing pressure at a time when global trade disruptions, tariff shifts and Pakinomist-economic rivalries across the Middle East and North Africa are reshaping the economy and North Africa.

“This period of uncertainty calls for adaptability,” Aurangzeb said, noting Pakistan’s cautious engagement with the US on tariff measures, securing a relatively favorable 19 percent tariff on key textile exports and accelerating diversification of both markets and products, particularly fast-growing exports of IT services expected to reach $4 billion this year.

Qatari Finance Minister Ali Bin Ahmed Al Kuwari termed Pakistan a ‘brotherly country’ and affirmed that the GCC-Pakistan Free Trade Agreement, the first free trade agreement the Gulf bloc has concluded in years, will usher in a new phase of regional trade flows.

He called the FTA “a major strategic milestone” and said the deal would deepen cooperation between Pakistan and the Gulf in energy, agriculture, textiles and increasingly advanced technologies.

Highlighting Pakistan’s growing talent pool in artificial intelligence and digital sectors, Al Kuwari said Qatar was keen to collaborate in artificial intelligence, digital infrastructure and skills development.

IMF Deputy Managing Director Bo Li praised Pakistan for taking ‘significant strides’ in fiscal discipline and building resilience. He reiterated the fund’s commitment through the $1.3 billion Resilience and Sustainability Facility, which supports green budgeting, climate risk assessments and funding for climate-resilient infrastructure.

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

He also flagged Pakistan’s ‘third largest global freelancer base’ and said the next digital leap, from basic coding to artificial intelligence and blockchain, could push earnings up from $10-12 an hour to $60-250 for specialized skills.

Later in the day, Aurangzeb and Al Kuwari held a meeting where both sides committed to operationalize opportunities created by the FTA and deepen LNG, trade and technology cooperation.

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

On a separate panel discussing the evolving US-China relationship, Hina Rabbani Khar, chair of the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, warned that the selective use of economic and human rights sanctions was fragmenting the global system.

The discussion explored how countries, particularly across the Global South, are balancing ties with both Washington and Beijing amid rising rivalry, and whether the new landscape is heading towards fragmentation or a more pluralistic order.