Federal Finance Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar met the Vice President of World Bank’s South Asian Region Ms. Annette Dixon
Federal Minister for Finance Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar met the Vice President of World Bank’s South Asian Region Ms. Annette Dixon at the World Bank, Washington DC.
Ms Annette Dixon appreciated the performance of Pakistan’s economy during the last two years. She said that World Bank was happy to be a partner of Pakistan in development. She said that World Bank was preparing a plan to support energy sector and economic growth. She observed that Dasu Hydropower Project was on track and congratulated Finance Minister Dar on the signing ceremony for CASA 1000 which is scheduled to be held in Istanbul on April 24, 2015.
The Finance Minister, while recalling the state of Pakistan’s economy at the time when the present government took over, expressed his gratitude for World Bank’s unwavering support for Pakistan’s economic revival in the form of Country Strategy Partnership and support of government’s priority area of four E’s. Finance Minister Dar acknowledged the World Bank’s assistance for conclusion of CASA-1000 Agreement. He said that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is hoping to have close cooperation in political and economic spheres with the new government in Afghanistan and CASA-1000 Agreement is a good start in this regard. Senator Dar expressed his resolve to get maximum financing from IDA-17 cycle.
The Finance Minister said that the government has successfully undertaken tax reforms and the first batch of SROs has been eliminated. Senator Dar briefed about the healthy trends in the economy of the country as a result of government policies, the Revenue Growth for example, he especially mentioned, had witnessed 16.4% growth rate during the last fiscal year and the government is eyeing for 20% growth this year despite all challenges. Senator Dar apprised the Vice President of the government’s serious pursuit of reform agenda especially in energy and taxation sector. He highlighted the recent privatization of HBL shares and stated that this was a resounding success. He reiterated that the government will ensure that the expenditure on Public Service Development Program and Social Safety Nets is not curtailed and the funds are released according to the allocation made in the budget.
April 18, 2015
Washington D.C
