Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue, Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb, held an important meeting with Dr. Abdulhamid Alkhalifa, Chief Executive Officer of the OPEC Fund for International Development, on the sidelines of the World Bank–IMF Spring Meetings 2026.
During the meeting, the Finance Minister appreciated the OPEC Fund’s growing and active engagement with Pakistan, noting with satisfaction several recently approved and ongoing transactions. He acknowledged Pakistan’s strong track record as a borrower and expressed satisfaction with the depth and quality of the existing collaboration.
Senator Aurangzeb expressed keen interest in fully leveraging the OPEC Fund’s three complementary financing windows, including sovereign lending for the public sector, private sector financing, and Islamic finance instruments.
The Finance Minister encouraged the OPEC Fund to further deepen its engagement with Pakistan’s private sector and expressed interest in exploring policy-based budget support operations.
Highlighting emerging priorities, Senator Aurangzeb underscored that water infrastructure projects have assumed a national security dimension for Pakistan in light of the prevailing regional context.
He further noted that the OPEC Fund’s three thematic priorities - climate action, food security, and digital transformation - are closely aligned with Pakistan’s development agenda.
The Finance Minister extended an invitation to Dr. Alkhalifa to visit Pakistan and further strengthen bilateral cooperation.
The meeting concluded with Senator Aurangzeb expressing appreciation for Dr. Alkhalifa’s invitation to attend an upcoming OPEC Fund event in Vienna.
