ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin said on Thursday that Pakistan’s reform process in the power sector as well as efforts to enhance revenue collection are bearing fruit and the government is firmly committed to pursue all-inclusive and sustainable economic growth with efficiency, productivity, and meritocracy as its hallmarks.

The minister was talking to Yong Ye, Country Director of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), who paid a courtesy call on the finance minister.

The ADB country director briefed the minister about approval of vaccine support project for Pakistan to the tune of $500 million, out of which $314 million have already been disbursed.

The Country Partnership Strategy for Pakistan has also been approved.

Under 3-year pipeline, $2 billion for Pakistan will be provided for each of the three years.

Moreover, the ADB is looking at various options to support Pakistan through a single window.

This will add value to the already existing working equation between Pakistan and the ADB, he added.

The finance minister also apprised about formation of short-, medium- and long-term plans under the umbrella of the Economic Advisory Council (EAC), which has prepared recommendations to bring structural reforms in 14 sectors of the economy over the period of time.

The finance minister also underlined the key features of the Kamyab Pakistan Program (KPP) to be launched soon.

The programme will disburse microcredit to 3.7 million under-privileged households for promoting financial empowerment under various schemes.

In his concluding remarks, the finance minister commended the support extended by the ADB during testing times and affirmed to identify priority areas for further strengthening the working equation between the two sides.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021