LAHORE: Vice President of Asian Development Bank Shixin Chen has said that ADB programmes focus on SMEs, women entrepreneurs and eradication of poverty. ADB is also supporting the incubation centres and is also focusing on public private partnership.
He was speaking at the Lahore Chamber of Commerce & Industry. LCCI President Mian Nauman Kabir shed light on the ongoing economic scenario while Senior Vice President Mian Rehman Aziz Chan and Vice President Haris Ateeq also spoke on the occasion.
Shixin Chen said the ADB support was different from IMF, adding the support of IMF was only available when there was a balance of payment crisis. On the other hand, the support of ADB was on long-term basis and particularly in the areas like infrastructure, power generation, he added.
He said ADB and Pakistan had a longstanding development partnership and the Bank would continue to support Pakistan for the growth of economy.
LCCI President Mian Nauman Kabir said ADB should extend cooperation for the establishment of an industrial estate for women entrepreneurs and SMEs.
He said the efforts of ADB had provided a 300 million dollars policy-based loan to strengthen Pakistan’s finance sector. He hoped that another 300 million dollars policy-based loan committed by ADB to help promote macroeconomic stability by improving trade competitiveness and diversifying exports would certainly make the difference.
The LCCI President said that significant role of ADB had provided rapid support to Pakistan to deal with coronavirus disease in a better way. It was the result of 500 million dollars loan under the bank’s COVID-19 Active Response and Expenditure Support Programme that Pakistan was able to deliver social protection programmes in an exemplary way.
He said that although the situation caused by the third wave of pandemic was well under control but uncertainty continued to pose economic challenge to Pakistan.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022
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