IFC lauds Pakistan’s successful economic reforms

ISLAMABAD: International Finance Corporation (IFC) Managing Director and Executive Vice President Makhtar Diop Friday appreciated Pakistan’s productive engagement with the IMF and successful ongoing economic reforms.

As head of the World Bank Group’s private sector investment arm, he held a meeting with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to discuss the IFC’s ongoing and pipeline portfolio in Pakistan. Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, Minister of Economic Affairs Ahad Khan Cheema, and senior officers of the ministries attended the meeting.

Diop highlighted the need for increased private sector investments to improve the road and power sector infrastructure, especially transmission lines, airport services, wheat storage infrastructure including silos to enhance the private sector’s role in facilitating exports. In order to have a healthy population for sustained economic growth, the need of private investment in water, health and sanitation - with desired social safeguards was also highlighted at the meeting.

He shared that government’s efforts to create an enabling environment for the private sector operations in Pakistan, under the leadership of the prime minister, has increased investors’ confidence. He assured the prime minister of IFC’s continued support to the private sector in Pakistan duly aligned with the government’s priorities.

The prime minister appreciated the WBG’s recently launched new decade-long Country Partnership Framework (CPF) (2026-2035) with its unprecedented commitment of US$40 billion.

It would include sovereign lending of US$20 billion by the International Development Association (IDA) and International Bank for Reconstruction & Development (IBRD).

The IFC would mobilise another US$20 billion to foster private sector investments in Pakistan.

Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb held a separate meeting with Makhtar Diop at the Finance Division on Friday.

Makhtar Diop noted that private sector stakeholders in Pakistan have expressed confidence in the finance minister’s policies and are appreciative of the progress being made. He also commended Pakistan’s Country Partnership Framework (CPF) with the World Bank, recognising it as one of the best practices globally.

Diop reiterated IFC’s commitment to working closely with Pakistan and providing support in key areas such as green energy data centres, agricultural supply chain, improvements in the telecom sector and digitization.

The finance minister highlighted the government’s recent declaration of warehousing as an industry and reaffirmed its commitment to public private partnerships (PPPs) in infrastructure, IT data centres and AgTech.