The Adviser to the Prime Minister on Finance Dr. Abdul Hafeez Shaikh held a virtual meeting today with Vice President of the Asian Development Bank Shixin Chen.
In his opening remarks, the Finance Adviser appreciated the strong support extended by the ADB for the fight against Covid-19. He acknowledged ADB’s long-standing partnership and firm commitment towards Pakistan to bring about essential reforms in priority areas like energy, transport, water, and urban services, and the social sector.
He also shared a brief overview on the current economic situation and highlighted the measures taken by the Government to protect the vulnerable from the pandemic. The government had to shift from its pre-Covid fiscal tightening in order to provide relief to the masses and businesses during these testing times.
ADB’s support to the Ehsaas Program was appreciated and areas of mutual interest, like effective resource mobilization and enhancing domestic productivity, were discussed for future collaboration.
Shixin Chen commended the prime minister’s smart lockdown strategy as being ideal in striking a balance between lives and livelihoods. He also lauded the socioeconomic coverage extended to the marginalized section of the society and shared ADB’s commitment to continue its support in the future.
The Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Division Khusro Bakhtiar, Country Director ADB Xiaohang Yang, and the Executive Director ADB Shahid Mahmood also attended the meeting.
