ISLAMABAD: The World Bank on Tuesday informed Pakistan about the re-allocation of an amount of $ 150 million for the purchase of Kovid-19 vaccines.
An official statement quoted World Bank’s South Asia Regional Vice President Hartwig Schaefer as saying, “West Bengal is fully committed to providing assistance to developing countries for the purchase of COVID-19 vaccines and for this purpose Pakistan $150 million has been redistributed for.”
Mr Hartwig held separate meetings on Tuesday with the WB’s Country Director for Pakistan, Nazi Benhassin, along with Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin and Economic Affairs Minister Omar Ayub Khan.
The two Ministers acknowledged the World Bank’s significant contribution to Pakistan’s socio-economic development since the 1950s and commended the World Bank Group’s proposed $12 billion initiative to provide developing countries with a COVID-19 vaccine to treat one billion people. Will help you buy.
The Finance Minister appreciated the important role being played by the World Bank in strengthening governance and service delivery in Pakistan through institutional reforms currently being undertaken.
The statement quoted Mr Hartwig as supporting the reform agenda undertaken by the government and acknowledging the efforts made by Pakistan for effective management of the COVID-19 crisis. He also lauded Pakistan’s commitment to a clean and green environment and called for maintaining the momentum of reform in the country.
The meeting reviewed the progress of the World Bank’s ongoing programs – the Resilient Institute for a Sustainable Economy-II and the Program for Affordable and Clean Energy – as these programs occupy a central place in the government’s social and economic reform paradigm. It was observed that the programs are progressing satisfactorily.
The Minister of Economic Affairs discussed the ongoing portfolio, economic recovery and development priorities for the upcoming Country Partnership Framework (2022-26) with the World Bank delegation.
The meeting was informed that around 57 projects worth $12.9 billion are being implemented under WB funding in priority sectors such as education, health, social security, finance, agriculture, energy and communications across the country. During the last financial year, Pakistan signed 16 projects worth $3.64 billion with the World Bank.
Discussing the future interventions, Umar Ayub talked about better road and digital network in rural areas as well as cold storage besides enhancing connectivity to control post-harvest damages and volatility in prices of perishable commodities. emphasized the need.
The Minister proposed to the World Bank to provide technical and financial assistance for creation of digital infrastructure including fiber optics network and incubation centers for specialized training and certification of IT experts as part of the country support strategy for the next five years.
Published in Dawn, August 4, 2021
.