Pak GDP growth highest in nine years: World Bank

Says growth will accelerate in coming years; praises Punjab govt for skill training

ISLAMABAD: The World Bank on Saturday forecast Pakistan´s GDP growth in fiscal year 2017 to climb to 5.2 percent, the highest expansion rate in nine years, boosted by consumer confidence and fiscal reforms.

Growth is expected to accelerate to 5.5 percent in FY18 and 5.8 percent in FY19, according to a World Bank report released on Saturday.

"Pakistan´s accelerating growth is good news and reflects the country´s success in building confidence.

But the pace of reforms has slowed and it is important for the structural reforms to accelerate," said Illango Patchamuthu, World Bank country director for Pakistan.

The World Bank´s twice-yearly report was released in Lahore on Saturday in collaboration with Lahore School of Economics.

It said a moderate increase in investment was expected to supplement growth, driven primarily by public and private consumption.

The report said there need to be more technical and vocational training programme to boost job prospects for the "youth bulge".

It emphasised that federal and provincial governments must work together on reforms, since many policies are handled at the province level.

"Effective collaboration between federal and provincial governments will be crucial if Pakistan has to deliver on its growth potential" said Muhammad Waheed, World Bank senior economist for Pakistan.

Pakistan's growth will continue to benefit from growing consumer and investor confidence in the first half of FY17, following the successful efforts to restore macroeconomic stability during the last 4 years.

The World Bank also highlights the importance of the skilling of the youth bulge for better jobs.

The Punjab government is putting in efforts to significantly increase the scale of technical and vocational training programmes in an attempt to boost job prospects for the province's 'youth bulge'.

Several next steps in this area have been identified in the report including the application of quality standards and the introduction of initiatives to improve matching between jobseekers and prospective employers.