Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb on Wednesday requested China to roll over the guaranteed debt and also increase the current size of the $ 4.3 billion swap agreement aimed at dampening the low currency reserves.

The requests were made to Chinese Finance Minister Lan Fo’an on the sidelines of the International Monetary Funds (IMF) spring meetings, according to the Ministry of Finance’s officials. The bilateral meeting remained “very positive and constructive,” the officials said.

Aurangzeb also invited Chinese and Saudi Finance Ministers to visit Pakistan.

High -level engagement focused on strengthening bilateral economic cooperation and confirming partner support to Pakistan’s Reformed Agency under the IMF Program Fund Facility (EFF) program, according to a press release issued by the Ministry of Finance after the meeting.

It added at his meeting with Lan Fo’an, Finance Minister in China, Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb remembered their last meeting, held in Beijing in July 2024, and thanked the government for China for its unwavering support for Pakistan’s socio -economic development and for its strong support for Pakistan’s economic reform program, supported by the IMF.

China has assured the IMF to roll Pakistan’s cash deposit of $ 4 billion.

The officials said that among the issues that Pakistan took with China, the Chinese Exim Bank debt, which matured during the IMF program’s tenure and increased the size of the bilateral currency -swap agreement.

The Minister of Finance had also made these requests last year, but so far the formal approvals have not been given by China.

The government is seeking the displacement of export imports (Exim) Bank of China’s debt, which matures until September 2027.

The officials said that the question of raising the borders according to the currency -swap agreement was also taken up with the Chinese authorities. They did not reveal the extra amount that Pakistan applied for a loan under the Swap Agreement. Pakistan has already spent the existing CNY 30 billion or $ 4.3 billion Chinese trading facilities to repay his debt.

Last October, the Finance Minister had requested China to raise this limit with an extra CNY 10 billion CNY and translate to $ 1.4 billion at the current exchange rate. If Beijing accepts when the total facility reaches approx. $ 5.7 billion.

Pakistan’s gross official currency reserves remain low at around $ 10.6 billion, which it wants to rise to over $ 14 billion in the next two months on the back of new loans and higher transfers. The reduction of the Exim Bank debt will also help bridge the external financing gap identified during the IMF program period.

Pakistan’s external financing gap, which was projected in September last year, was to reduce significantly as the World Bank has projected a $ 800 million profit for this financial year compared to previous estimates of around $ 3.7 billion deficits.

The Minister also provided an update on the status of the Panda bond and requested support from People’s Bank of China (PBOC) to quickly track the issuing process according to the Ministry of Finance.

Aurangzeb also briefed the Chinese side of the most important reforms implemented in taxation, energy, privatization, public economy and state -owned companies (SOES), the Ministry of Finance said.

The Ministry of Finance also released its monthly economic views and predicted gradual recovery in the large presentation in the middle of fall in output in the last over two years.

The report noted that the outlook for the production of a large scale can be gradually improved in the coming months, with improvement expected to be gradually in the middle of continued annual contraction and recent monthly decline.

It said that improvements in high -frequency indicators – such as rising car production, import of raw material and a more welcoming monetary attitude – indicate cautious optimism.

Improved weather conditions and increased water accessibility probably support higher crops and better agricultural conditions that contribute to overall economic growth.

The Ministry of Finance said inflation is expected to remain between 1.5 – 2% in April with a possible increase to 3 to 4% in May 2025.

The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund this week cut Pakistan’s inflation projections to 5.1-5.5%.

The Ministry of Finance said that exports and transfers are expected to maintain their upward trend in the coming months, keeping the ongoing account within manageable reach. Transfers last month hit the record high level of $ 4.1 billion.

Muhammad Aurangzeb also held an important meeting with Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed Aljadaan in Washington, DC, according to the Ministry of Finance. The Minister thanked Aljadaan for Saudi -Arabia’s long -standing and strong support to Pakistan in his persecution of economic development, including through support for the IMF program, it added.

Saudi -Arabia has agreed to roll $ 5 billion in cash deposit for one more year.