Islamabad:- Mr. Martin Raiser, Regional Vice President for South Asia of World Bank and his delegation along with Naji Benhassin invited Prime Minister Mohammad Shehbaz Sherif.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif welcomed Mr. Martin Raiser and praised the World Bank’s contribution to Pakistan’s development. The Prime Minister appreciated the Bank’s support for building climate-resilient infrastructure after the 2022 floods in Pakistan. This is the digitization of the entire tax system of the devolved government, reforms in the energy sector, increasing the yield per hectare in agriculture, the wonder of children, etc. provide information on reform plans.
Appreciating Pakistan’s aggressive reform agenda, Mr. Martin Raiser said the World Bank is ready to partner with Pakistan in its economic transformation journey towards sustainable development.
Both sides agreed to engage in long-term, focused cooperation in the new country partnership framework with an annual review mechanism to assess progress and ensure results are achieved. The strategy will include flexibility to adjust future courses. The new partnership will have the ambition to achieve a transformative impact on a set of key development priorities for Pakistan over the decade.
The set of priorities discussed in the meeting included structural economic reforms through the mobilization of domestic resources, especially digitization and tax policy reform. Human capital development is discussed, particularly addressing childhood conditions and improving basic education. Similarly, the reform of the energy sector will also be agreed, including the green energy transition to increase the participation of the energy sector in transmission and distribution and make energy cheaper, cleaner and financially sustainable. Both sides emphasized cooperation in climate adaptation to overcome water scarcity and improve climate impacts.
To increase economic opportunities, including in the agricultural sector, the Bank of Pakistan will leverage the Bank’s expertise in mobilizing global expertise and best practices, institutional capacity building, digital transformation and engagement of the private sector, including the private sector of the World Bank, through International Finance. Corporate and Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency.
Both sides agreed that the process of developing the new country partnership framework will involve consultation with federal and provincial authorities, as well as academia, parliament, civil society, development partners and the private sector. The World Bank will discuss with stakeholders cooperation priorities that are in line with the development priorities and strategies of the Government of Pakistan.
The Prime Minister witnessed the signing of a joint communique signed by Mr. Naji Benhassine, World Bank Country Representative and Dr. Kazim Niaz, Secretary of the Ministry of Economy.
Minister of Economy Ahad Khan Chema, Minister of Finance Muhammad Aurangzeb, Minister of Petroleum Dr.
