Finance minister flags fertilizer supply risks, agri output concerns, market volatility in meeting with ADB president

Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue, Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb, held a meeting with Mr Masato Kanda, President of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), on the sidelines of the World Bank–IMF Spring Meetings in Washington, D.C.

During the meeting, the finance minister took note of the ADB President’s concerns regarding disruptions to fertiliser supply chains, potential implications for agricultural output, and volatility in financial markets.

The finance minister highlighted the recent signing of the Country Partnership Strategy (CPS) as an important milestone in advancing bilateral cooperation between Pakistan and the Asian Development Bank. He thanked President Kanda for ADB’s support in providing credit enhancement for the issuance of Pakistan’s inaugural Panda Bond.

He briefed the President on the successful conclusion of the Staff-Level Agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for the third review under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and the second review under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF), and expressed hope for a positive outcome at the Executive Board.

The finance minister characterised the ongoing crisis as a significant supply shock and outlined Pakistan’s policy response to address its first-order effects, including measures related to fuel availability, pricing, logistics, targeted subsidies, and demand-side management. 

He also highlighted ongoing assessments of second and third-order impacts in coordination with the State Bank of Pakistan.

The finance minister, on behalf of the Prime Minister, extended an invitation to President Kanda to visit Pakistan