- The meeting focused on financing WB for economic reforms.
- The WB team presents continuous work linked to the tax program.
- The program covers subjects linked to economic and budgetary reforms.
Islamabad: Pakistan and the World Bank reaffirmed on Monday commitment to continuous collaboration in order to advance the reform agenda and stimulate positive changes for the future of the Pakistani economy.
The commitment occurred at a follow -up meeting between the Minister of Finance and income, Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb and the World Bank team to discuss the national growth and tax program of Pakistan as part of the 10 -year national partnership framework (CPF), with $ 20 billion.
According to the press release published by the Ministry of Finance, the framework focuses on key development fields, including health, education, climate resilience and sustainable growth. Among other things, the meeting attended senior officers from the Ministry of Finance and the Federal Board of Return.
The main objective of the meeting was a continuous discussion on the financing of WB investments for economic reforms, said the press release, adding that the banking team presented its current work concerning the preparation of a full national growth and stopping program.
This program covers a wide range of critical subjects linked to economic and budgetary reforms, including strategies aimed at unlocking constraints to inclusive and sustainable growth, mobilization of income, improving the quality of expenditure and improving the efficiency and responsibility for the provision of services.
A major objective of these reforms is to create the conditions necessary for the increase in private productive investments while ensuring that more public resources are allocated to inclusive development.
The World Bank has also informed the Minister of Finance of their analysis of the ongoing data of the proposals and recommendations of policies collected from various chambers, commercial organizations and associations during consultations before the budget.
This collaborative approach is aligned with the early budgetary process of the government, which was presented to January this year to ensure a robust and realistic income policy based on good economic considerations.
During the meeting, Aurangzeb underlined the need for a complete and integrated approach to tax, commercial and private sector reforms which cover the federal and provincial levels.
He stressed the importance of conceiving reforms that are encouraged by indicators based on results and based on performance directly linked to human development and socio-economic growth.
The Minister of Finance reiterated that an approach coordinated on a national level, illustrated by the national tax pact, is crucial to ensure macroeconomic stability. He stressed that this unified approach would be the cornerstone to reach the country’s aspirations to inclusive and sustainable economic growth, ensuring the well-being of all citizens.
$ 20 billion financing program
Earlier in January, the World Bank launched its finance program of several billion dollars, Country Partnership Framework for Pakistan for fiscal year 26, which Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif described as “timely intervention” to help Pakistan to face several challenges, including economics, poverty and climate change.
During the ceremony, Vice-President Rayer promised the continuous assistance of the World Bank in Pakistan and stressed that six sectors were targeted as part of the 10-year setting.
The international financial institution has unveiled its plan for Pakistan, promising $ 20 billion in areas such as clean energy and climate resilience.
The World Bank has said that political and institutional reforms to stimulate the growth of the private sector and extend the budgetary space for government investment in crucial fields would also be essential.
The World Bank has currently hired around $ 17 billion in Pakistan for 106 current projects.
The country has changed on the verge of the economic crisis for several years and economists and international financial institutions have called for major economic reforms.
Pakistan is currently less than a rescue program for the monetary fund of $ 7 billion, which forces the country to increase public revenues and consolidate external funding sources, a large part of which comes from loans from China and the Gulf nations.