Pakistan's Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb met with US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick in Washington, DC, on the sidelines of the World Bank and IMF Spring Meetings, where both sides discussed deepening bilateral economic ties with a focus on trade, investment, and cooperation in sectors including mining, energy, and information technology. Aurangzeb also briefed IMF First Deputy Managing Director Dan Katz on the economic impact of the ongoing Middle East conflict on Pakistan, describing the war as one of the largest supply shocks in recent history and comparable in scale to the demand disruption caused by Covid-19. The meetings come as Pakistan awaits IMF Executive Board approval of a staff-level agreement reached under its Extended Fund Facility, with the finance minister reaffirming Islamabad's commitment to its reform programme amid mounting external pressures.