Shaukat Aziz had been a president of Citi Private Bank in New York before returning to Pakistan in 1999.
Shortly, General Pervez Musharraf arrived for a small personal trip to United States after staging a coup d'état to deposed the people-elected Prime minister Navaz Sharif on 12 October 1999.

On 26 November 1999, while addressing a gathering of influential lobbyist of Pakistan American community, a political lobbying sub-body of the Association of Pakistani Physicians of North America (APPNA), Musharraf stated that: "Shaukat Aziz has come to Pakistan with forty other financial experts who have offered free service to revive the Pakistan's national economy".
After a brief session, Musharraf asked Shaukat Aziz to stand up and introduce himself to the audience.

Aziz reportedly return with Musharraf in November 1999 and took the in charge of Finance ministry as its Finance Minister.
Aziz took control of the economy with responsibility for Finance, Economic Affairs, Statistics Division, Planning and Development, and revenue divisions.
As Minister of Finance Aziz also headed the Economic Coordination Committee of the Cabinet, the Cabinet Committee on Investment, the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council, and the Cabinet Committee on Privatization.
As Finance minister, all state-owned mega-corporations came under the government-ownership while restructuring each mega-corporation to set off to privatisation.
During his first days, Aziz worked to control the economy in a difficult and a hostile environment with then-President Muhammad Rafiq Tarar who called him "an Alien", and many among those who were close to deposed Prime minister Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto.
Other politicians including Fazal-ur-Rehman and Ameen Faheem became hostile towards Aziz and his policies; and harboured grave doubts about him because Aziz was not like a traditional politician in the country, an accredited politician.

Initially there was a decline in the economy, and Aziz attributes this as "state (Pakistan) unpleasant relations with international financial institutions.
There was a ~70% declining in the national economy with the loss of $150 million (1999) to $600 million (2000), which constituted 0.21% of foreign direct investment (FDI) global flow.
Aziz took initiatives for FDI offering incentives to foreign investors with his macroeconomic policies, taxation framework and a consistent investment policy.

After the 11 September attacks in the United States and Pakistan's rôle in the War on Terror, Aziz travelled to United States in order to negotiate a relief and U.S. aid to Pakistan.
He closely worked with US Secretary of the Treasury on the detail of the devised plan on how to remove Taliban from Afghanistan, cancellation and debt relief, loans from the World Bank, and direct support from U.S. Aid for national public development.
Aziz recommended policies and new plan of economic reforms, including the improved budgetary transparency and spending controls— a plan that was widely accepted by the United States.
With the help from United States Department of the Treasury, Aziz thwarted individuals, difficulties and obstacles to achieve success in his economic programmes.
In 2002, Aziz worked with U.S. administration to help advised the United States to finance the war in Afghanistan.
In the words of John B. Taylor, Aziz suggested that U.S. should called out for a meeting of finance minister of the G7 member countries, where the illicit funding of money would become a great problem for G7 countries later in future.
In April 2002, Aziz chaired a historical meeting on behalf of Pakistan and United States, helped the G7 members to understand the useful information how the illicit money is transferred was shared with the finance ministers of G7 members and Pakistan on other side.

In 2001, Aziz implemented and activated the Privatization Programme (first founded by former prime minister Nawaz Sharif in 1991) and opened all state-owned enterprises (SOEs) to private sector.
This programme undertook the country into rapid economic growth an
Shaukat Aziz had been a president of Citi Private Bank in New York before returning to Pakistan in 1999. Shortly, General Pervez Musharraf arrived for a small personal trip to United States after staging a coup d'état to deposed the people-elected Prime minister Navaz Sharif on 12 October 1999.
On 26 November 1999, while addressing a gathering of influential lobbyist of Pakistan American community, a political lobbying sub-body of the Association of Pakistani Physicians of North America (APPNA), Musharraf stated that: "Shaukat Aziz has come to Pakistan with forty other financial experts who have offered free service to revive the Pakistan's national economy". After a brief session, Musharraf asked Shaukat Aziz to stand up and introduce himself to the audience.
Aziz reportedly return with Musharraf in November 1999 and took the in charge of Finance ministry as its Finance Minister. Aziz took control of the economy with responsibility for Finance, Economic Affairs, Statistics Division, Planning and Development, and revenue divisions. As Minister of Finance Aziz also headed the Economic Coordination Committee of the Cabinet, the Cabinet Committee on Investment, the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council, and the Cabinet Committee on Privatization. As Finance minister, all state-owned mega-corporations came under the government-ownership while restructuring each mega-corporation to set off to privatisation. During his first days, Aziz worked to control the economy in a difficult and a hostile environment with then-President Muhammad Rafiq Tarar who called him "an Alien", and many among those who were close to deposed Prime minister Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto. Other politicians including Fazal-ur-Rehman and Ameen Faheem became hostile towards Aziz and his policies; and harboured grave doubts about him because Aziz was not like a traditional politician in the country, an accredited politician.
Initially there was a decline in the economy, and Aziz attributes this as "state (Pakistan) unpleasant relations with international financial institutions. There was a ~70% declining in the national economy with the loss of $150 million (1999) to $600 million (2000), which constituted 0.21% of foreign direct investment (FDI) global flow. Aziz took initiatives for FDI offering incentives to foreign investors with his macroeconomic policies, taxation framework and a consistent investment policy.
After the 11 September attacks in the United States and Pakistan's rôle in the War on Terror, Aziz travelled to United States in order to negotiate a relief and U.S. aid to Pakistan. He closely worked with US Secretary of the Treasury on the detail of the devised plan on how to remove Taliban from Afghanistan, cancellation and debt relief, loans from the World Bank, and direct support from U.S. Aid for national public development. Aziz recommended policies and new plan of economic reforms, including the improved budgetary transparency and spending controls— a plan that was widely accepted by the United States. With the help from United States Department of the Treasury, Aziz thwarted individuals, difficulties and obstacles to achieve success in his economic programmes. In 2002, Aziz worked with U.S. administration to help advised the United States to finance the war in Afghanistan. In the words of John B. Taylor, Aziz suggested that U.S. should called out for a meeting of finance minister of the G7 member countries, where the illicit funding of money would become a great problem for G7 countries later in future. In April 2002, Aziz chaired a historical meeting on behalf of Pakistan and United States, helped the G7 members to understand the useful information how the illicit money is transferred was shared with the finance ministers of G7 members and Pakistan on other side.
In 2001, Aziz implemented and activated the Privatization Programme (first founded by former prime minister Nawaz Sharif in 1991) and opened all state-owned enterprises (SOEs) to private sector. This programme undertook the country into rapid economic growth an
Shaukat Aziz