No trade with neighbours ‘illogical’: Aurangzeb

Not trading with your neighbours doesn’t make sense, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said on Sunday, when asked a question on increasing regional trade, particularly with India. Speaking at a wide-ranging presser, held at the Pakistan Embassy in Washington, he clarified that while “political connotations” or “geopolitical issues” affecting regional trade were outside his purview, Pakistan was “already engaging with its neighbours”. He noted that all intergovernmental organisations effe­ctively serve as “regi­onal corridors,” citing examples from south-east Asia and the countries of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC). “We recently attended the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) conference and are keen to join the BRICS alliance because we seek to expand trade,” he added. Mr Aurangzeb has been in Washington to attend the annual meetings of the Inter­national Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank Group over the past week. Sharing insights from his discussions with international financial leaders, rating agencies, and US business representatives, he reported that all had acknowledged Pakistan’s economic progress, particularly in reducing inflation. He credited government reforms for these gains, noting that foreign exchange reserves have risen to over $11 billion.