Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue, Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb, met a high-level Gates Foundation delegation led by Dr. Anita Zaidi, President, Gender Equality Division, along with Ms. Kalpana Kochhar, Interim President, Global Policy and Advocacy Division, at the Finance Division today.
The Finance Minister welcomed the delegation and appreciated the Gates Foundation’s continued support and engagement with Pakistan, emphasizing the value of further collaboration through knowledge sharing, technical expertise and international experience.
Ms. Kalpana Kochhar briefed the Finance Minister on the Foundation’s growing engagement in Pakistan, particularly in human capital, child health, nutrition, maternal health and women’s economic participation. She highlighted the South Khyber Pakhtunkhwa programme combining cash transfers, nutrition support, livelihoods training and access to citizen facilitation centres for women, which is expected to reach around 170,000 women and 450,000 children this year. She also highlighted nationwide nutrition efforts through the UNICEF “Livelihood 2.0” facility aimed at improving access to nutrition commodities and addressing childhood stunting.
Dr. Anita Zaidi briefed the Finance Minister on the Foundation’s maternal health work and the use of artificial intelligence to improve health outcomes, highlighting the LUMS AI Hub’s collaboration with provincial governments on personalized solutions for women and families during pregnancy and delivery. She also outlined AI applications designed for low-connectivity environments and basic Android devices, including local-language capabilities, to make digital health solutions more accessible and locally relevant.
The discussion covered population growth and its implications for maternal and child health, nutrition, poverty and girls’ education. The Finance Minister briefed the delegation on the National Population Council, chaired by the Prime Minister, and emphasized the importance of federal-provincial coordination, women’s education and empowerment, greater workforce participation and birth spacing, including through engagement with religious scholars and other stakeholders.
Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb also highlighted the importance of domestic investor confidence, privatization and expenditure reforms, including rightsizing and greater use of digital technologies to improve government efficiency. He outlined the Government’s Access to Finance agenda for SMEs, agriculture and other underserved segments, with a focus on digital financial pathways, improved data exchanges and cash-flow-based lending. On revenue mobilization, he emphasized enforcement, facilitation and trust, alongside digitalization and automation of tax assessments and audits to enhance transparency and efficiency.
The Gates Foundation representatives welcomed progress in Pakistan’s financial sector and expressed interest in supporting greater access to finance, particularly for SMEs, through improved information flows, digital footprints and cash-flow-based lending. They highlighted the potential of digital and data-driven solutions to strengthen financing pathways for small businesses and retailers while promoting greater facilitation, transparency and trust.
The two sides also discussed opportunities in agriculture, the digital economy and private-sector-led investment. Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb highlighted growing interest in private equity and briefed the delegation on the Government’s efforts to strengthen Pakistan’s private equity ecosystem and mobilize greater long-term domestic and international capital for productive investment.
The Finance Minister appreciated the Gates Foundation’s continued engagement and emphasized the value of its financial support, technical expertise and knowledge sharing in advancing Pakistan’s development priorities. Dr. Anita Zaidi reaffirmed the Foundation’s commitment to Pakistan, and both sides agreed to deepen collaboration across human capital, health, financial inclusion and digital innovation.
The delegation included Mr. Syed Ali Mahmood, Senior Program Officer, Inclusive Financial Services; Ms. Aisha Salman, Program Officer, Leadership Engagement Implementation, Gender Equality; Mr. Ammar Khan, Senior Program Officer, Development Policy & Finance; Mr. Jamal Khan, Deputy Director and South & Southeast Asia Lead, Global Policy & Advocacy; Mr. Waqas Ul Hasan, Chief Executive Officer, Karandaaz Pakistan; Mr. Taimoor Ali, Group Head, Karandaaz Pakistan; and Mr. Sharjeel Murtaza, Chief Digital Officer, Karandaaz Pakistan. Senior officials of the Finance Division also attended.
