Federal Minister for Water Resources Muhammad Mueen Wattoo on Tuesday met a World Bank delegation to discuss strengthening water security, enhancing flood resilience, and addressing water scarcity challenges in Pakistan.
According to a statement, the delegation was led by Meskerem Brhane, Regional Director for ‘Planet’ in the Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan, and Pakistan Region. Senior World Bank officials, including Bekele Debele Negewo, Francois Onimus, and Basharat Saeed, accompanied her. Senior officials from the Ministry of Water Resources (MoWR) were also present.
Wattoo acknowledged the World Bank’s longstanding engagement in Pakistan’s water sector and underlined the urgent need for collaborative action on priority areas.
Discussions focused on the increasing frequency and intensity of floods, growing water scarcity, and ways to improve agricultural water productivity.
Brhane offered condolences over the loss of lives and property in recent floods in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab. She stressed the importance of integrated water resource management, land use planning, and coordination among federal and provincial stakeholders.
She noted that climate resilience, particularly flood resilience, is a key objective under the World Bank’s Pakistan Country Partnership Framework (CPF) 2026–2035.
The ministry informed the delegation that its National Flood Protection Plan IV is aligned with the CPF and is eligible to receive World Bank support.
The Additional Secretary, MoWR, highlighted that reducing water conveyance losses by 33 percent by 2030 is a major target under the National Water Policy. Both sides agreed to hold follow-up discussions to identify practical solutions in infrastructure, governance, and management to enhance water efficiency and service reliability.
They also underscored the need for investment in water resource measurement and monitoring of projects across the country. Plans include creating a publicly accessible, data-driven platform to track progress and strengthen national water resource management.
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