ISLAMABAD: A Pakistani delegation, led by Finance Minister Asad Umar, met with the representatives of Asian Development Bank (ADB), World Bank (WB) as well as the Saudi finance minister to discuss issues related to economy and reforms undertaken by Islamabad.
According to a press release received by APP on Friday, the Pakistani delegation also held a number of bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank (WB) spring meetings.
The finance minister and his delegation met with Asian Development Bank President Takehiko Nakao and apprised him of the current macroeconomic situation in the country.
The minister and the ADB president discussed continuation of Pakistan’s ongoing engagement with the bank. Nakao appreciated the reform undertaken by the government and assured continued support of the Asian Development Bank in the development of Pakistan.
Earlier, the finance minister reviewed the World Bank’s Pakistan portfolio in a meeting with a World Bank team, led by Hartwig Schafer, Vice President for South Asia.
They discussed projects in the pipeline as well as the sectors where the World Bank could further scale up its interventions in Pakistan.
The finance minister also held a meeting with a team of WB’s Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), led by its Chief Operating Officer Vijay Iyer, and shared views about the privatization policy of the government and the expansion of public-private partnership framework in the country.
The MIGA team apprised the finance minister of its current engagements in Pakistan. They informed that MIGA was now looking to expand its portfolio in the country.
On the sidelines, the finance minister also met with the US Treasury and apprised them about the macroeconomic situation in the country as well as measures being taken to strengthen the laws pertaining to money laundering.
The finance minister also held a meeting with his Saudi counterpart Mohammed Al-Jadaan.
The Saudi minister apprised Asad Umar of the increasing growth momentum of the Saudi economy and potential employment opportunities for Pakistani construction workers in his country.
