Pakistan and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) agreed to improve development partnerships and ensure effectiveness in the ongoing economic portfolio.
Federal Minister for Economic Affairs, Makhdum Khusro Bakhtyar, held a virtual meeting with the new Director-General Central and West Asia Department of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Yevgeniy Zhukov.
It was decided during the meeting to continue discussions on ways to expand cooperation in the areas of trade and competitiveness, social protection (Ehsaas Program), Public-Private Partnership, operationalization of the EXIM Bank, and Domestic Resource Mobilization, a press release issued after the meeting stated.
The Secretary Economic Affairs Division, Noor Ahmed, and Country Director ADB, Xiaohong Yang, also joined the meeting.
The minister appreciated ADB’s role as a trusted development partner of Pakistan. He highlighted the role ADB has played in terms of the quality of the portfolio and provision of support, keeping in view the emerging needs of the country.
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He also commended ADB’s timely support to Pakistan to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.
The minister said that despite the challenges posed by the pandemic and worldwide contraction, Pakistan’s key economic indicators were showing encouraging results. He attributed this to the government’s commitment to structural reforms.
The ADB DG acknowledged the government of Pakistan’s commitment to reform the process and economic recovery.
He reiterated ADB’s commitment to work closely with the government of Pakistan to develop more meaningful projects aligned with the country’s needs and regulatory frameworks.
