WASHINGTON: Vice President World Bank South Asia Region Annette Dixon on Wednesday appreciated the remarkable turnaround of Pakistan economy in a short period of two years.
She said this in a meeting with Finance Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar. Director World Bank Akihiko Nishio, Senior Country Officer World Bank Uzma Basim, Economic Minister, Embassy of Pakistan, Ambassador Jalil Abbas Jilani and Executive Director World Bank Nasir Khosa were also present on the occasion.
The finance minister thanked Dixon for continued World Bank support for development projects and policy reforms in Pakistan. He especially thanked World Bank for its decision to provide $75 million for the return and rehabilitation of Temporarily Displace Persons (TDPs) of FATA and for the Power Sector Development Policy Credit Loan which would be presented before the World Bank Board on 12th Nov 2015.
Ishaq Dar said that Energy was one of the 4 Es of the PML(N) Government the other three Es being Economy, Education and Elimination of Extremism. He expressed the hope that World Bank would finance projects envisioned under Country Partnership Strategy for 2015-19.
Dixon complemented the finance minister on the pace at which the DPC prior actions were completed.
She observed that with the approval of the Energy DPC the current set of DPC loans was completed. She, however, stated that the World Bank was examining areas for next set of DPC loans under which it can further consolidate the ongoing reform process. She requested Finance Minister to identify the priority areas in which World Bank assistance can be most useful.
The finance minister thanked the vice president World Bank for reposing confidence in economic policies of the government. He informed her that the government will soon convey its reform priorities for next set of Development Policy Credit Loans.
