ISLAMABAD: World Bank Managing Director Sri Mulyani Indrawati, who arrived on Saturday for talks on economic reforms, said that the country has successfully stabilised economy, and it now needs to sustain reforms.

Sri Indrawati will hold talks with Finance Minister Ishaq Dar to have a full briefing on the economic performance of Pakistan. She is expected to call on Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and meet federal ministers to update her on the country’s reforms programme and discuss the support Pakistan needs for its development projects.

The World Bank Group’s programme in Pakistan is governed by its Country Partnership Strategy (CPS) agreed with the government. Its portfolio has 25 investment lending projects under implementation with a total net commitment of $4.95 billion.

IFC, the World Bank Group’s private sector arm, has a committed portfolio of about $1.2bn in 47 companies, of which infrastructure (energy, ports, and transport) accounts for 53 per cent, general manufacturing and services 15pc, and financial markets 32pc.

The World Bank feels that Pakistan is still facing significant governance challenges that may hamper attempts of policy changes leading to poverty reduction and economic growth.

Addressing these challenges will be critical to success of policy decisions aimed at improving the energy sector, service delivery, competitiveness, as well as stability in the country.

Under the country partnership strategy, the World Bank Group has proposed an approach simultaneously selective and integrative to support the federal and provincial governments to address governance challenges.

Published in Dawn, August 2nd, 2015

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