Asian Development Bank (ADB) has made sure of its support for the development efforts and to tackle the Covid-19 in Pakistan.
In a series of virtual meetings with senior Pakistan government officials from October 27 to November 17, Chen met with Adviser to Prime Minister on Finance and Revenue Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and ADB Governor Makhdoom Khusro Bakhtiar, Planning, Development & Special Initiatives Minister Asad Umar.
Federal Minister for Energy Omar Ayub, State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Governor Reza Baqir, and Special Assistant to Prime Minister (SAPM) and Federal Minister for Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety Protection Sania Nishtar, among other senior officials and development partners.
While in a meeting, Chen said, “ADB and Pakistan have a long-standing development partnership having worked together to confront various challenges and emergencies.”
“Our swift and robust response to Pakistan in combating the Covid-19 pandemic has further strengthened this partnership. We will continue to work closely with the government, development partners, and the private sector to assist Pakistan, including through our forthcoming five-year country partnership strategy. This will support the post-Covid-19 economic recovery, help to resume and strengthen reform programmes, and implement the country’s development agenda.”
The meeting discussed the ADB project portfolio performance, their cooperation for development projects and support for Covid-19 response. The government highlighted the importance of measures being taken to improve the readiness of processing and implementation of development projects, also highlighted the value of ADB’s support for policy reforms and regional cooperation.
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Chen held consultations with key development partners including World Bank (WB) Country Director for Pakistan, International Monetary Fund (IMF) resident representative, head of the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office in Pakistan, USAID Pakistan mission director, and representatives of the US Embassy to Pakistan.
Moreover, as part of the series of meetings, Chen also participated in a micro, small and medium-sized enterprise (SMEs) themed discussion. Regulators, bankers, and entrepreneurs were also made engaged in it, to strengthen business and job opportunities for rapid post-Covid-19 recovery.
