Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb on Friday reaffirmed the government’s dedication to implementing significant structural reforms and transparency initiatives during a pivotal meeting with the World Bank, where the international financial institution tabled a new results-based approach for future cooperation.
The high-level discussion took place in the capital with a World Bank team headed by Country Director Ms Bolormaa Amgaabazar to review ongoing collaboration and determine priority areas under the bank”s Country Partnership Framework with Pakistan.
Mr Aurangzeb underscored the critical need for market-driven vocational and technical training. He also emphasised the importance of fostering closer public-private collaboration and aligning skills development programmes with the demands of both domestic and overseas labour markets.
During the engagement, the World Bank delegation briefed the finance minister on the progress of current operations and projects. This included recent developments in fiscal and revenue reforms, ongoing macroeconomic stabilisation efforts, and various policy-based engagements.
It was mutually acknowledged that Pakistan has made tangible progress toward achieving macroeconomic stability, attributing the success to the implementation of prudent fiscal and monetary policies.
The World Bank put forward a results-based framework for future support, which would feature clearly defined policy milestones, performance indicators, and targeted technical assistance to aid in the execution of the reform agenda.
Sectoral priorities were also a key topic, with digital services exports, agriculture and agribusiness, minerals and mining, healthcare, and selected manufacturing segments identified as potential focus areas for future World Bank-supported operations.
The meeting concluded with an accord to continue technical-level engagements to further refine priorities, narrow the scope of proposed interventions, and advance the preparation of future programmes in line with Pakistan”s reform objectives and the Country Partnership Framework.