PM Shehbaz welcomes WB's $40bn investment in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif on Monday welcomed the World Bank’s (WB) $40 billion investment in Pakistan, saying it will usher in “a new chapter” in a number of economic areas, ARY News reported.

PM Shehbaz passed these remarks in a meeting with the World Bank Executive Directors’ team in Islamabad, a news statement from the PM Office Media Wing issued.

The WB and Pakistan have been partners for more than 70 years, the prime minister remarked as he welcomed the team to Pakistan.

“Pakistan has greatly benefited from its partnership with the World Bank,” he said, adding the WB provided substantial assistance to the people affected by the 2022 floods in Pakistan.

PM Shehabaz said that a $40 billion investment in Pakistan is part of the World Bank’s most recent Country Partnership Framework, which he termed very promising.

“A new chapter of progress would begin in Pakistan with $20 billion allocated for various projects in health, education, youth development, and other social sectors,” he said.

The prime minister said that Pakistan’s economic development will be accelerated by an additional $20 billion in private sector investments made by the International Finance Corporation (IFC).

He said Pakistan’s institutional and economic reform program was progressing quickly and expressed gratitude for the WB’s faith in the government’s plans.

“The country’s economy is on the right path and moving towards growth,” the press release quoted the prime minister as saying. PM Shehbaz also stressed that the sustainable economic development required further efforts.

He said the credit for economic turn around went to the hard work of the government’s economic team. The prime minister observed that Pakistan’s exports and remittances were increasing, adding reduction in interest rates was boosting investment in the production sector,.

He further said that the government was introducing transparency in the system to control corruption. Digitisation remained a priority in the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) reforms, he reiterated.

He said the power sector reforms aimed to ensure uninterrupted electricity supply and reduce losses.

“The Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) has created an attractive environment for investment in Pakistan, functioning under a unique system involving all stakeholders,” he added.

The prime minister maintained rather than relying on loans, they prioritized investment and partnerships. The delegation members praised Pakistan’s ongoing reform programme and its effective implementation.

The positive outcomes of the government’s ongoing reform initiatives were being felt which was a promising development, the delegation noted.

“They said under the leadership of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Pakistan’s journey of economic reforms was progressing ‘quickly’. The delegation also appreciated the government’s reform measures in the energy, industrial and export sectors, privatization, revenue generation, and other key areas,” the statement read.

A nine-member World Bank Executive Directors delegation is urrently visiting Pakistan, overseeing portfolios of various countries within the World Bank.

The delegation will discuss economic development projects and investment opportunities in Pakistan.

The meeting was attended by Ministers Ahsan Iqbal, Ahad Khan Cheema, Sardar Owais Khan Leghari, Dr. Musadik Malik, Ministers of State Ali Pervaiz Malik and Shaza Fatima Khawaja, Prime Minister’s Coordinator Romina Khurshid Alam, Senator Sherry Rehman, Member of the National Assembly Nafisa Shah, Prime Minister’s Representative for the Polio Program Ayesha Raza Farooq, and other senior officials