Islamabad: Minister for Finance Muhammad Aurangzeb has reaffirmed the government’s resolve to prioritize climate change and population management within Pakistan’s economic and fiscal planning. He was speaking at the 28th Sustainable Development Conference organized by the Sustainable Development Policy Institute in Islamabad today. He noted the resilience of the world economy despite global uncertainty.

According to Radio Pakistan, Muhammad Aurangzeb highlighted the need for Pakistan to build strong fiscal and external buffers to manage potential external shocks, particularly in the face of rising protectionism and supply chain realignments. He discussed the creation of the Pakistan Crypto Council and the Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority, which are being legislated through Parliament, emphasizing Pakistan’s regulatory approach to virtual assets and blockchain technology.

The Minister announced that Pakistan has secured significant multilateral support, including 1.3 billion dollars from the IMF under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility, 500 million dollars from the Asian Development Bank, and a 10-year Country Partnership Framework with the World Bank Group worth 2 billion dollars annually, focused on climate change and population management.

He stressed the importance of mobilizing domestic resources, private capital, and market-based mechanisms like green bonds and carbon markets. Aurangzeb praised private sector initiatives such as Acumen’s 90 million dollars Climate Action Fund and Sindh’s mangrove carbon credit project, advocating for their nationwide replication.

Furthermore, he pointed out the potential for debt-for-nature swaps and called for enhanced technical capacity to design, structure, and monitor climate projects that meet international standards. Aurangzeb emphasized the critical role of finance ministries in integrating climate priorities into national budgets to ensure they become national policy.