ISLAMABAD:
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday termed the World Bank’s National Partnership Framework (CPF) as a historic initiative forged through a decade-long strategic cooperation to boost employment opportunities, IT-led initiatives and climate resilience that They guarantee economic stability.
He addressed the launch ceremony of the historic $20 billion Country Partnership Framework (CPF), which is a transformative initiative marking the longest ever development partnership between Pakistan and the institution global financial. The strategic collaboration aims to address Pakistan’s pressing economic and development challenges while fostering growth, climate resilience and technological advancement.
The prime minister thanked the World Bank for reposing trust in Pakistan after promising to provide $20 billion under the 10-year National Partnership Framework (PPF) last week.
The Prime Minister underlined that the World Bank had supported Pakistan through several critical projects, ranging from hydropower and water management to transformative economic reforms.
He expressed gratitude to the World Bank team for their leadership in shaping the framework, describing it as a timely intervention to overcome Pakistan’s immense challenges.
The Prime Minister highlighted progress in digitization of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), introducing a pilot project at Karachi Port to reduce collusion between importers and customs officials. The initiative, which features faceless interactions, aims to increase domestic revenue while curbing corruption, he added.
“These funds will be channeled towards social protection projects for Pakistan’s most vulnerable populations,” he explained.
The Prime Minister assured the government’s full commitment to implementing the MAP, urging unity among politicians, experts and bureaucrats to achieve the framework’s ambitious objectives.
“The presence here of the vice president (of the World Bank) demonstrates the World Bank’s confidence in Pakistan’s evolving system, which is taking bold but necessary steps towards vitality and functionality,” he said.
The Prime Minister extended his vote of thanks to the Vice President of the World Bank in German language and underlined Pakistan’s readiness for a new era of development, with emphasis on public-private partnerships and sustainable growth under the MAP framework.
World Bank Vice President for South Asia Region Martin Raiser praised Pakistan’s recent economic reforms and reiterated the institution’s commitment to the partnership.
“The MAP will anchor the economic stability needed for Pakistan and the region,” he said, praising the prime minister’s leadership and urging continued collaboration to ensure the program’s success.
Najy Benhassine, World Bank country director for Pakistan, said the $20 billion “is an indicative figure that projects our current commitments and the decision on the project, program loan and provincial shares would be taken after discussions with the authorities”. Goals are estimates based on what we have been or can achieve, he added.
The average rate of child stunting in Pakistan is 38%, one of the highest in the world, and exceeds 60% in the poorest rural districts. The educational level is also low: 25.4 million children between 5 and 16 years old (a third of the age group) are out of school, most of them girls.
Over the next decade, the World Bank aims to provide quality health, nutrition and population services to 50 million people. It also plans to ensure that 30 million women use modern contraceptives and provide water, sanitation and hygiene services to 60 million people.
Approximately 12 million children (almost half of those currently out of school) will receive a quality education. By 2035, 30 million people will achieve nutritional security and 75 million will achieve greater climate resilience.
Martin said the World Bank Group’s resources are not sufficient to achieve the Country Partnership Framework’s ambitions, so there is a need to reach out to the private sector and catalyze private sector investment. He said the World Bank would also collaborate with international development partners to align goals and pool resources.
The new MAP is strategically designed to complement the government’s program and address the country’s most important challenges, the Vice President said.
Focus, influence, long-term focus and tangible objectives are at the heart of the new framework and marks a change in the way we engage with Pakistan, Martin said. Pakistan is the pioneer of the revolution and the World Bank board was also enthusiastic about the new approach, he added.
Martin Raiser, World Bank vice president for South Asia, said the World Bank will adjust course as the partnership framework with the country progresses. Some of the areas may progress faster than others and plans will be changed in light of the new changes, taking into account long-term sustainable objectives, he added.
To a question, Najy said that digital transformation makes it 100% easier for the government to achieve Pakistan’s development goal. “This morning we had long conversations with the NADRA chairman about the ongoing reforms and actions and the potential of digital Pakistan is huge,” Najy said.
Digital transformation is a 100% facilitator for the implementation of the MAP and there is no doubt about it, he added.
Najy said there are also two connected issues: transportation infrastructure and digital solutions. He said that to reduce learning poverty it will be necessary to build many rural roads.
Najy said the World Bank’s new macroeconomic projections will be updated in April this year. The World Bank’s new framework also aims to increase Pakistan’s tax-to-GDP ratio to 15% within a decade and boost public spending on the bottom half of the population by 60%.
Zeeshan Sheikh, Country Director for Pakistan and Afghanistan, said that today private sector investment is very small compared to the overall size of Pakistan’s economy and the issues hampering investment will be addressed under the new strategy.
A decade-long partnership aims to address the toughest economic challenges facing Pakistan’s economy today, said Economic Affairs Secretary Dr Kazim Niaz.
