Islamabad May 9 2024: The Federal Minister for Economic Affairs, Ahad Khan Cheema, met with Martin Raiser, the South Asia Regional Vice President (SARVP) of the World Bank, in Islamabad today to discuss a range of topics related to Pakistan’s economic growth and development.
Minister Cheema welcomed Vice President Raiser and expressed gratitude for the ongoing support and assistance from the World Bank Group (WBG) to Pakistan. He reiterated Pakistan’s commitment to implementing key reforms across major sectors to foster sustainable economic growth.
Discussions centred on the new Country Partnership Framework, where the Minister praised the World Bank’s teams for their guidance. He also highlighted ongoing efforts to accelerate project implementation and resolve bottlenecks.
The Minister requested that the World Bank consider expanding its development portfolio for Pakistan through innovative financing options and by encouraging private sector participation, with support from the International Finance Corporation (IFC).
Vice President Raiser commended the Government of Pakistan for their dedication to steering Pakistan toward economic recovery. He expressed satisfaction with the progress on various sectoral projects and socio-economic reforms, expressing confidence that these initiatives would lead to a more prosperous future for the people of Pakistan.
The Vice President committed to deepening the partnership between the World Bank and the Government of Pakistan, particularly in areas such as human capital, climate change, agriculture, energy, water, and decent employment. He also assured the Minister of his full support in exploring new financial solutions to align with Pakistan’s development priorities.
Both sides also signed a Joint Communique wherein it was mutually agreed to engage in a long-term, focused partnership under the new Country Partnership Framework with annual reviews for assessing progress and course correction to achieve transformational impacts over a decade through a select set of critical development priorities.
The initial set of priorities include structural economic reforms, improving foundational learning, energy sector reforms, climate adaptation and increasing economic opportunities, including in agriculture.
In his closing remarks, Minister Cheema thanked the Vice President Raiser and his team for their visit, reaffirming Pakistan’s commitment to providing full support at all levels of government to ensure the success of ongoing and future developmental projects.
