ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Economic Affairs, Omar Ayub Khan has said that the government intends to move away 70 per cent of energy production from fossil fuels to hydel-based and renewable sources by 2030.
The Economic Affairs Division minister said this during a meeting with USA’s Alternative Executive Director to the Asian Development Bank (ADB) John Hurley here on Monday. EAD Secretary Mian Asad Hayaud Din, ADB Country Director Yong Ye and Pakistan’s Executive Director to ADB Noor Ahmed also attended the meeting.
As per details, the minister welcomed Hurley on his first official visit to Pakistan and expressed his gratitude to the ADB management for efficiently processing and successfully procuring Covid-19 vaccines to support the government’s national vaccination drive.
The minister highlighted the financial and budgetary importance of two ADB funded programme loans intended to target reform initiatives within the energy and capital market sectors.
John Hurley reiterated ADB’s commitment to support Pakistan’s reform agendas, especially within the energy and financial markets sectors, and to speed up the economic recovery process as soon as the ongoing IMF review is completed.
Hurley appreciated the government’s national vaccination drive, and informed the minister that the APVAX facility remains available if the government chooses to opt for additional financing of Covid-19 vaccines in the near future.
Hurley also emphasised the importance of pipeline ADB funded programme loans such as the Domestic Resource Mobilisation Programme to increase the tax base and enhance overall revenue collection targets of the country for future debt sustainability and growth.
Omar Ayub said that given the rapid pace of urbanisation and population growth, the urban services sector was a priority area of the present government.
He highlighted the importance of developing farm to market roads such as communication linkages and ensuring power supply to remote areas for increasing market accessibility and enhancing the rate of return.
The minister informed Hurley that through the National Coordination Committee on Foreign Funded Projects (NCC-FPP), EAD had significantly improved performance of ongoing projects by removing major bottlenecks.
The minister also highlighted additional efforts within EAD to improve project management and oversight by creating a dedicated monitoring cell.
