ADB to continue supporting Pakistan’s development agenda

APD NEWS

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By APD writer Muhammad Sohail

ISLAMABAD, July 7 (APD) -- Asian Development Bank on Thursday vowed to continue supporting Pakistan’s development agenda by providing and arranging funds for different projects, helping in policy making and disseminating technical assistance in multiple sectors.

Wencai Zhang, Vice President of the Asian development Bank (ADB), made this announcement at a ceremony held to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the bank and its expanding partnership with Pakistan in the country’s capital of Islamabad.

He expressed his satisfaction over Pakistan government's efforts in stabilizing the macroeconomic indicators which had shown encouraging performance during recent years

“So far we have been involved heavily in infrastructure and energy sectors in Pakistan, however, we are looking forward to invest in renewable energy, agriculture, transportation, railways, and also in social sectors, including health, education, water resource management, water sanitation and capacity building in various sectors to ensure inclusive growth and balanced development of the country,” said Wencai.

The Vice President said the ADB believed in regional connectivity, therefore it wanted to support the regional economic forums and economic corridors including China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) which is very important for Pakistan's development.

Since 1968, ADB has provided more than 30 billion U.S. dollars to Pakistan in loans so far, mainly for the sectors of infrastructure, energy, industries and financial markets.

Development cooperation between Pakistan and the ADB had expanded during the last few years, resulting in impressive levels of approvals and disbursement of bank's aid to the country during last year.

He said that ADB is interested in learning more about the government's new initiatives, including the Pakistan Development Fund (PDF) and the Pakistan Infrastructure Bank (PIB), with a view to potentially collaborate on them with the government.

After ADB's recent experience of policy-based lending for reforms in Pakistan has been successful, both sides have also agreed to identify further areas where reforms are required, which may be good candidates for policy based lending.

On the occasion, Pakistan’s Finance Minister Ishaq Dar appreciated the role of ADB as a development partner for Pakistan, adding that after having achieved macroeconomic stability, Pakistan is now focused on achieving higher, sustainable and inclusive economic growth.

The minister said that the Government of Pakistan would continue to work closely with development partners including ADB in future.

(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)