ISLAMABAD: A delegation of Asian Development Bank (ADB) Executive Directors from Japan, China, and South Korea met with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif here Tuesday, renewing ADB’s commitment to continue working closely with Pakistan to address its economic challenges.
The prime minister praised ADB for its long-standing relationship with Pakistan and for being a reliable partner in Pakistan’s socioeconomic development. He was grateful for ADB’s generous assistance in the aftermath of the 2022 floods. This includes the emergency relief grant, the Post Disaster Needs Assessment, and pledges made at the Geneva Climate Resilience Conference.
He expressed the hope that ADB’s would continue its strong partnership with Pakistan in addressing the country’s macroeconomic challenges.
The participants were apprised that the 9th review under the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme was progressing well with staff-level agreement expected in the next few days.
The prime minister underlined that Pakistan was committed to complete the reforms agreed in the programme.
The ADB’s executive directors expressed their deep satisfaction with the government’s efforts in addressing the huge challenges of the devastation caused by the recent floods.
The meeting was attended by Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Sardar Ayaz Sadiq and relevant senior officials.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif formally launched countrywide spring tree plantation campaign in Islamabad on Tuesday.Speaking on the occasion, the Prime Minister appealed the entire nation to actively participate in the tree plantation campaign to secure the future of our coming generations. He said during this campaign two hundred and forty million trees will planted across the country.The Prime Minister stressed for enhancing the country’s forest cover to meet with the negative impacts of climate change. The Prime Minister said the recent devastating floods which inflicted a loss of thirty billion dollars to the economy and displaced millions of people has further highlighted the significance of forests.He said we will have to take practical steps for environment protection and enhance green areas in the urban areas. He also stressed for enhancing awareness at educational institutions and seminaries in this regard.
