ADB president hails Pakistan’s economic reforms

ISLAMABAD: As the government plans to launch the inaugural Panda Bond by the end of current calendar year, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Wednesday pledged its readiness to assist in the launch as well as other innovative financing instruments.

The ADB president expressed appreciation for Pakistan’s economic reforms and resilience, commending the progress achieved in stabilizing the economy and advancing structural reforms.

A meeting was held on Wednesday between Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb, Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue, and Masato Kanda, President of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), at the Finance Division, where both sides reaffirmed mutual commitment to advancing the partnership in the years ahead.

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He assured ADB’s continued support in key areas including climate change adaptation, population challenges, infrastructure development, and resource mobilization.

He also welcomed Pakistan’s efforts towards market diversification and pledged ADB’s readiness to assist in the launch of the inaugural Panda Bond and other innovative financing instruments.

Kanda reaffirmed ADB’s willingness to partner with Pakistan on its reform agenda, emphasizing that ADB would continue to work closely with the Government of Pakistan to ensure sustained progress and prosperity.

The Finance Minister conveyed gratitude for ADB’s expression of solidarity and reiterated Pakistan’s determination to build climate resilience and strengthen disaster preparedness in the aftermath of recent floods.

The minister also expressed his gratitude to the ADB President for prioritizing Pakistan and choosing to visit it as the first country after assuming office, recalling with appreciation his earlier meetings with the President in Washington in April this year. The Finance Minister also appreciated the ADB country team led by Emma Fan for their constructive engagement and continued support extended to the Ministry of Finance and the Government of Pakistan in advancing economic reforms and development priorities.

The Finance Minister highlighted Pakistan’s steady economic progress despite multiple challenges in recent years. He underlined that Pakistan had successfully stabilized its macroeconomic framework, with inflation declining sharply, a turnaround in the current account, and recent upgrades in Pakistan’s sovereign ratings by international credit agencies, which have helped lower the cost of borrowing.

The minister acknowledged ADB’s continued and substantial support to Pakistan in recent years, pointing to the Bank’s strong backing for reforms in resource mobilization, women’s financial inclusion, disaster risk financing, and the clean energy transition. He also recognized the ADB’s contributions to strengthening Pakistan’s agriculture insurance, transport and connectivity infrastructure, and ongoing support for building resilience in the financial sector.

The Finance Minister underscored Pakistan’s priorities for deeper collaboration with the ADB across key areas, including energy transition, climate resilience, transport and logistics, human capital development, and resource mobilization.

He welcomed the ADB’s strong medium-term commitment to Pakistan and encouraged enhanced collaboration in policy-based financing, capital markets development, private sector participation, and innovative instruments such as Green Bonds, blended finance, and Debt-for-Nature swaps. He also emphasized the importance of ADB’s partnership in supporting the government’s PPP pipeline and sectoral reforms to build long-term resilience.

The Finance Minister reaffirmed Pakistan’s strong commitment to reforms in taxation, tariff rationalization, SOE restructuring, and regulatory modernization, while appreciating ADB’s role as a dependable and long-standing development partner. He extended an invitation for enhanced collaboration under the upcoming ADB Country Partnership Strategy 2026–35, aligned with Pakistan’s medium-term development priorities.

The meeting was attended by senior officials of the Ministry of Finance, Federal Board of Revenue, Ministry of Economic Affairs and the senior management team from the ADB, including Emma Fan, Country Director ADB Pakistan, Leah Gutierrez, Director General Central and West Asia Regional Department, and Noor Ahmed, Pakistan’s Executive Director to the ADB.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2025