Islamabad :. Jane Marriott CMG OBE, British High Commissioner to Pakistan, called on Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue, Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb, at the Finance Division.
The Finance Minister welcomed the High Commissioner and expressed appreciation for the United Kingdom’s longstanding development partnership with Pakistan. He conveyed gratitude to the UK Government for its continued support, particularly in areas of digitalization, public financial management, climate resilience, and technical assistance.
The Minister also recalled his recent meeting with Baroness Jenny Chapman, UK Minister for International Development and Africa, in Washington D.C., and acknowledged the UK’s valuable contributions, including support on the Digital Dashboard initiative and climate-related programmes.
The Finance Minister briefed the High Commissioner on Pakistan’s ongoing macroeconomic reforms, noting that after a period of stabilization, the country had now transitioned towards economic consolidation. He highlighted that all three global rating agencies had aligned in upgrading Pakistan’s outlook after a gap of three years, reflecting increasing confidence in the economic trajectory.
He apprised that the recent staff-level agreement reached with the IMF, coupled with extensive engagement with international financial institutions, investors and bilateral partners, demonstrated growing external validation of Pakistan’s reform momentum.
Senator Aurangzeb emphasized that the Government remains committed to ensuring macroeconomic stability while simultaneously pursuing a medium-term shift towards investment- and export-led growth to break the historical boom-bust cycles. He outlined ongoing efforts to liberalize the trade regime through a phased reduction in additional customs duties over the next four to five years to enhance industrial competitiveness and promote export growth.
Discussing investment climate and FDI inflows, the Minister underscored the need to generate bankable projects and strengthen private sector-led investment pipelines. He noted increasing traction among domestic business groups, including their participation in the ongoing privatization process, and highlighted the role of business-to-business engagement in advancing investment prospects.
The Finance Minister apprised the High Commissioner of ongoing tax reforms focused on documentation, digitalization, broadening of the tax base and minimizing leakages. He informed that AI-based monitoring systems had been deployed to curb tax evasion and improve compliance. He further shared that the Government was introducing integrity-based peer review mechanisms and strengthening service delivery to restore public trust in the tax system. The Minister added that with tax policy now moving out of FBR, the Finance Division would institute sector-specific advisory mechanisms to ensure continuous engagement with key industries.
The Finance Minister also discussed key areas requiring calibrated policy interventions, including incentivizing skilled talent retention in the country, addressing sector-specific tax challenges in the IT sector, and strengthening the ease of doing business to facilitate foreign expertise and investors.
The High Commissioner congratulated the Finance Minister and his team on the notable progress achieved in implementing difficult economic reforms, the return to primary surplus after 14 years, and improved fiscal management. She acknowledged the Government’s commitment to sustaining reform momentum and appreciated the clear direction set for long-term economic growth.
Ms. Marriott shared feedback from the business community, particularly in Karachi, noting growing confidence among investors in the Government’s economic direction. She reiterated the need for continuing reforms to sustain investor trust, including strengthening the social contract with taxpayers, improving talent availability, and enabling smoother processes for foreign executives working in Pakistan.
The High Commissioner welcomed the Government’s reform initiatives in tax administration and digitalization and reaffirmed the UK’s willingness to provide technical assistance, especially in priority sectors such as IT, climate finance, and public financial management. She also discussed avenues for enhanced UK support through REMIT and underscored the importance of timely progress on ongoing collaborative initiatives.
Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to further strengthening bilateral cooperation, with a mutual focus on economic reforms, climate action, private sector-led growth, and sustainable development.
Sohail Majeed is a Special Correspondent at The Diplomatic Insight. He has twelve plus years of experience in journalism & reporting. He covers International Affairs, Diplomacy, UN, Sports, Climate Change, Economy, Technology, and Health.
