Islamabad February 9 2023: Negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (MF) have entered the final stage says Pakistan Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue, Senator Muhammad Ishaq Dar on Thursday.
“Today is the final round of IMF negotiations and good progress is being made on both sides, he added. He expressed his hope that talks with the IMF are on track.” he added.
Completion of the ninth review will make the country eligible for tranche of US$1.2 billion and also help the country to get additional commitments from friendly countries and Multilateral creditors.
He said this while addressing the closing ceremony of ‘International Road Safety Conference for Parliamentarians’ here in a local hotel.
The EFF was approved by the Executive Board on July 3, 2019 (see Press Release No. 19/264 ) for SDR 4,268 million (about US$6 billion at the time of approval, or 210 percent of quota). In order to support program implementation and meet the higher financing needs in FY23, as well as catalyze additional financing, the IMF Board approved an extension of the EFF until end-June 2023, rephasing and augmentation of access by SDR 720 million that will bring the total access under the EFF to about US$6.5 billion.
He said the government has total allocation of Rs 118.4 billion for road safety to enhance the country’s road infrastructure in Public Sector Development Program (PSDP) for FY2023.
The Finance Minister said the government is also acquainted with this fact and included 50 projects in the National Highway Authority (NHA) portfolio in PSDP for CFY2023 with a total allocation of Rs 118.4 billion to provide a safe, modern and efficient transportation system in the country.
Ishaq Dar said that till FY2022, the total vehicles on roads were estimated at 34.2 million which are increasing rapidly as the middle class is growing in the country.
He informed that Pakistan’s current road infrastructure comprised a total 500,750 kms comprising of Expressway 428 kms, Highways 32097, Local Roads 373525, Metro Roads 146, Motorways 2816 and Primary and Secondary Road 92153 Kms respectively.
He said the PML (N) Government in its previous tenures, focused on the key infrastructure development projects and M2 Lahore-Islamabad Motorway was initiated in early 1990’s by the PML(N) Government, which in its subsequent tenures expanded phenomenally throughout this country and later included under the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
This infrastructure development now forms the lifeline of Pakistan’s road infrastructure. It has enhanced the quality and length of roads considering the future needs of the country and provided much needed road travel comfort leading to significant road safety, he said.
He said that now, the present PDM coalition government, including PML-N is again working on a fast track to enhance the length and quality of the roads in the country to facilitate the economic development of the country.
It is also actively pursuing effective enforcement of road safety laws to ensure the accident free traffic flow, he added.
The minister said that as parliamentarians, it was our duty to find necessary solutions to improve road safety. We must act now and fast, at the local and global level, he said.
The minister said that we must introduce road safety measures with a goal to reduce road fatalities and serious injuries by 50 percent by the year 2030, being the targets established by the United Nation Global Action Plan on Road Safety.
The minister said this target can become a stepping-stone for all of us before reaching the ambitious goal of no deaths and serious injuries in the future. Let us pledge today to join this ambition.
The conference has been a great opportunity for parliamentarians to share their experiences, knowledge and best practices, and I am sure that the valuable insights and discussions would be helpful in shaping the future of road safety initiatives in our countries, he expressed.
Meanwhile, he stressed upon the importance of continuing the efforts to improve road safety and said that now the world needs to focus more on legislating comprehensive traffic laws and rules and strictly ensure their implementation.
The loss of precious lives and the financial burden caused by road traffic accidents are a tragedy that affects families and communities across the nations, he said. Ishaq Dar said that as parliamentarians, we have a responsibility to work together to make our roads safer for all citizens of our countries.
“I would like to pay my gratitude to the International Parliamentarians’ Congress to have taken this very important initiative on organizing the first such Conference for Parliamentarians on Road Safety in Pakistan.”
He also appreciated the efforts of the Presidents of International Parliamentarians Congress (IPC) on Road Safety and Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), Deputy Secretary Parliamentary Assembly of Turkic States (TURKPA) and all the members of the organizing committee for putting together such a successful event.
Ishaq Dar said these bodies’ tireless efforts have created a platform for Parliamentarians from around the world to come together and discuss this critical issue of road safety.
“I also want to extend my gratitude to the Delegation of the European Union to Pakistan for their contribution in the two-day Conference.”
Having seen the two-days program of the conference and the list of distinguished panellists, I am sure this two-day conference has further added to the knowledge and information pool of the Parliamentarians to legislate in their respective countries laws and rules to protect all forms of road users to further ensure road safety, he expressed.
He hoped that as a participant to the conference, your contribution has added a new perspective to the discussions, and I am confident that your participation will help in building strong joint action plans on Road Safety.
The minister said that road traffic accidents are one of the major causes of loss of precious lives and it also results in serious injuries and the fact that these are the biggest killer of young people worldwide.
“We can no longer accept this global menace in the larger public interest”, he said.
He said that the pressure on road infrastructure is increasing because other means of transport are relatively inefficient for ensuring effective road safety measures are essential for socio-economic development.
