ADB to support Pakistan in fight against corona

ISLAMABAD: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has expressed its commitment to continue its support to Pakistan to fight the coronavirus pandemic.
This was expressed when the Adviser to the Prime Minister on Finance, Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, held a virtual meeting with Shixin Chen, Vice President of the Asian Development Bank, on Wednesday.
Shixin Chen commended the Prime Minister Imran Khan’s smart lockdown strategy as being ideal in striking a balance between lives and livelihoods. He also lauded the socio-economic coverage extended by the government to the marginalized section of the society.
The adviser finance appreciated the strong support extended by the ADB for the fight against Covid-19. He acknowledged ADB’s long standing partnership and firm commitment towards Pakistan to bring about essential reforms in priority areas like energy, transport, water and urban services, and the social sector.
The adviser finance shared a brief overview on the current economic situation and highlighted the measures taken by the government to protect the vulnerable from the pandemic. He said the government had to shift from its pre-Covid fiscal tightening in order to provide relief to the masses and businesses during these testing times.
The ADB’s support to the Ehsaas Programme was appreciated and areas of mutual interest, like effective resource mobilization and enhancing domestic productivity, were discussed for future collaboration.
Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Division Khusro Bakhtiar, Country Director ADB Xiaohang Yang, and the Executive Director ADB Shahid Mahmood also attended the meeting. – TLTP