World Bank’s South Asia Regional Vice President (SARVP)Hartwig Schafer, and Country Director Najy Benhassine, held a meeting with Federal Minister for Planning Development & Special Initiatives Asad Umar

Dated : 4 August 2021

World Bank’s South Asia Regional Vice President (SARVP)Hartwig Schafer, and Country Director Najy Benhassine, held a meeting with Federal Minister for Planning Development & Special Initiatives Asad Umar here in Islamabad on Wednesday.

The Planning Minister welcomed the World Bank’s South Asia Regional Vice President and acknowledged the significant contribution of the World Bank in the socio-economic development of the country. He appreciated the pivotal role currently being played by the World Bank in strengthening governance and service delivery in Pakistan through institutional reforms being undertaken with the support of development partners.
The vice president thanked the Planning Minister for a warm welcome and said that World Bank greatly values its partnership with Pakistan and supports the reform agenda undertaken by the present government. He also acknowledged the efforts made by Pakistan for effective management of the Covid-19 crisis. He said that WB is fully committed to providing assistance to the developing countries for procurement of Covid-19 vaccines. He highlighted that Pakistan’s efforts to curtail the Covid-19 pandemic through a smart lockdown approach and addressing the socio-economic challenges through a fiscal stimulus package under Prime Minister Imran Khan’s vision of lives and livelihoods are being highly recognized and appreciated by the global community.

He further emphasized on timely completion of the ongoing policy reforms and development projects. He also commended the efforts of the Ministry of Planning to resolve long outstanding bottlenecks and expedite the project implementation on a fast track basis which is evident from the enhanced disbursement during the last fiscal year.

The Minister informed the mission that the Government plans to revamp the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics with the aim of modernization of statistical system and to enable it for high-frequency data generation. The PBS would also be conducting 1st digital census 2023, the Minister added. He said that the Government would welcome World Bank’s technical assistant in these areas.