LAHORE: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Wednesday held a consultative session on the ADB Country Partnership Strategy (2020-2024).
ADB Pakistan Country Director Xiaohong Yang congratulated the Punjab government for formulating the comprehensive Punjab Growth Strategy 2023, which will drive the development agenda of the government.
She said that the strategy covers all key areas that development partners are looking to collaborate on. She pinpointed key areas, especially public-private partnerships, where the ADB and Punjab government are working together, and hoped that the new projects coming in will lead to improving lives of the citizens.
Planning & Development Chairman Habibur Rehman Gillani on the occasion said that the government is focused on uplifting the social sector, as it is a part of the long term sustainable development agenda that prioritizes human development.
He said that the government will divert most of the public money to the social sector, primarily health and education, while mega projects, especially infrastructure projects, will be funded through the public-private partnership.
He said under the government’s socio-economic framework, the focus would be more on the uplift of industrial and agricultural sectors through trade and business facilitation.
“SME and tourism sectors also feature highly on the development and economic agenda of the government,” he added.
