Key Takeaways
- Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb met with Boeing Global President Dr Brendan Nelson.
- Discussions focused on PIA’s fleet modernisation and potential earlier aircraft deliveries.
- The meeting also covered financing support and engine procurement for the airline.
Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb met with Boeing Global President Dr Brendan Nelson during his visit to the 81st Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
The meeting aimed to discuss PIA’s fleet modernisation and explore options for accelerating aircraft deliveries.
Aurangzeb welcomed Boeing’s confirmation of a revised proposal for the acquisition of new aircraft and the exploration of earlier delivery slots and interim leasing arrangements.
The discussions also covered financing support from the US Export-Import Bank, engine procurement, spare parts, and maintenance of grounded aircraft.
Aurangzeb outlined PIA’s privatisation plans and the outsourcing of major airport management, emphasizing the importance of energy security for economic resilience.
In a separate meeting, the finance minister discussed the implementation of Pakistan’s Hepatitis C elimination programme with a representative of Abbott’s Pharmaceuticals Division.
He highlighted the slow progress of the programme, attributing it to leadership turnover, inadequate project management, and limited public awareness.
The meeting also covered improvements in regulatory capacity, pharmaceutical export diversification, and Abbott’s plans for oncology treatment.
The finance minister stressed the need to balance affordability with commercial viability and continuity of supply, and undertook to raise the programme’s implementation issues with relevant authorities.
During the UN-hosted ‘Solutions Dialogue on Climate Finance,’ Aurangzeb highlighted Pakistan’s vulnerability to climate change and the government’s responsibility to establish credible adaptation and disaster-response frameworks.
He outlined Pakistan’s diversified financing approach, combining domestic resources with assistance from the World Bank and the IMF’s Resilience and Sustainability Facility.
The finance minister also expressed concern over the slow operationalisation of the Loss and Damage Fund and urged international institutions to simplify their procedures for accessing climate finance.
