FROM THE OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS

The Pakistan Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs and the United States Department of the Treasury hereby establish the Pakistan-U.S. Joint Economic Forum (the Forum) to facilitate more regular consultations on economic issues of mutual interest to the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs and the Department of the Treasury.

The establishment of the Forum is a reflection of a shared desire to reinforce bilateral economic relations and promote better mutual understanding of economic and financial issues. The Forum will be an important vehicle for the exchange of ideas on important economic and financial policy matters.

Discussions under the Forum will focus on macroeconomic and financial issues of mutual interest. In this context, the participants in the Forum will exchange views on global, regional and bilateral economic and financial developments.

The Pakistan Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs and the United States Secretary of the Treasury, or their designees, will co-chair the Forum. Officials of the central banks of both the United States and Pakistan will be invited to participate in the Forum.

Meetings of the Forum will take place once a year, or as circumstances warrant. Meetings will take place at a convenient location and, where possible, in conjunction with other bilateral or multilateral meetings. Within two years from the date of the signing of this Memorandum of Understanding, the Pakistan Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs and the United States Department of the Treasury will consider progress under the Forum and whether it should be continued.

Signed on the 19^th of April, 2002, in Washington, D.C.