Muhammad Aurangzeb expects Pakistan’s current account deficit at 0%-1% this year

Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said Pakistan's twin deficits had dropped to 2.6% of GDP at the end of last June, down from a peak of 12.5%. Speaking at the 10th Annual Microfinance Conference hosted by the Pakistan Microfinance Network, he added that foreign exchange reserves had reached a record $21.4bn. According to Mettis Global, those reserves hit that level about two weeks earlier and cover roughly three months of imports.

Pakistan has received three sovereign upgrades since April 2025, and it returned to international capital markets after about four years. Demand for the $3bn Eurobond issue was twice its size, with buyers from Asia, the Middle East, Europe and the US. The minister said the lingering Gulf crisis is being watched closely with the State Bank governor, and its first-order effects have been handled well. He expects the current account deficit to stay between 0% and 1% for the full year, helped by strong remittance inflows, and GDP growth to top 4% in the current fiscal year.

Tax, energy, state enterprise and privatisation reforms will carry on, and foreign investors are showing interest in power distribution companies for the first time. On access to finance, Rs76bn has reached first-time homebuyers through the affordable housing scheme, and the export refinance limit rose from Rs1tr to Rs1.5tr. He also asked microfinance institutions to prioritise new borrowers in agriculture and SMEs.