Pakistan’s Finance Minister Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb presented a strong message of economic recovery and strategic reform at the Doha Forum, stating that the country has rebuilt its fiscal buffers, restored external balance, and is now moving decisively from crisis management toward sustainable long-term growth. Speaking at the session on global trade tensions and their economic impact across the Middle East and North Africa, he said Pakistan is now embarking on the “right path of reform and resilience,” crediting the restructuring undertaken after the IMF programme for easing domestic and external pressures at a time when the global economy is facing tariff shifts, supply chain disruptions, and intense geo-economic competition.
Aurangzeb explained that Pakistan has adopted a pragmatic approach in response to global trade uncertainty, including careful engagement with the United States on tariff arrangements that resulted in a relatively favourable 19 percent tariff on key textile exports. He highlighted that alongside defending traditional export sectors, Pakistan is rapidly diversifying both its markets and products, with IT services exports expected to reach almost $4 billion in the current year. He noted that technology-driven exports are increasingly central to Pakistan’s economic strategy and form a key pillar of future growth planning.
Qatar’s Minister of Finance, Ali Bin Ahmed Al Kuwari, described Pakistan as a “brother country” and confirmed that the GCC–Pakistan Free Trade Agreement, the first such agreement signed by the Gulf bloc in several years, would open a new phase of regional trade and economic cooperation. He called the agreement a major strategic achievement and said it would deepen collaboration across energy, agriculture, textiles, and advanced technology sectors. He also pointed to Pakistan’s growing talent base in artificial intelligence and digital technologies, adding that Qatar is keen to cooperate in AI development, digital infrastructure, and advanced skills programmes.
IMF Deputy Managing Director Bo Li praised Pakistan for achieving meaningful progress in strengthening fiscal discipline and building economic resilience. He reaffirmed the IMF’s commitment of $1.3 billion under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility, which supports green budgeting, climate risk assessment, and financing for climate-resilient infrastructure. At the same time, Aurangzeb warned that climate change poses a more immediate and direct threat to Pakistan than geopolitical tensions, noting that recent floods alone reduced national GDP by approximately 0.5 percent.
He also highlighted Pakistan’s position as having the third-largest global freelancer base, stating that the country’s next digital transformation phase will depend on upskilling workers from basic coding into advanced capabilities such as artificial intelligence and blockchain. According to him, this shift could raise average freelancer earnings from around $10–12 per hour to as much as $60–250 per hour for specialised technical skills, significantly improving export-oriented digital income.
Later, Aurangzeb held bilateral discussions with Ali Bin Ahmed Al Kuwari, where both sides committed to operationalising the opportunities created under the free trade agreement and expanding cooperation in LNG, trade, and technology. They agreed to establish structured mechanisms for joint work in AI capability development, climate resilience, and investment facilitation. On a separate panel, Hina Rabbani Khar warned that the selective use of economic and human rights sanctions by major powers is contributing to fragmentation of the global system, as countries in the Global South attempt to balance relationships with both the United States and China in a rapidly shifting international environment.
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