World Bank President James D. Wolfensohn arrive here on a three-day visit to Pakistan. He will call on President General Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz during his stay. This visit will provide an opportunity for Wolfensohn to interact with senior officials, civil society and parliamentarians and to discuss progress that has been achieved by Pakistan in improving its economic performance and implementing its Poverty Reduction Strategy.
Wolfensohn will also meet with the PM's Advisor on finance, the Governor State Bank of Pakistan, and with the Punjab chief minister as well as with representatives of civil society and the private sector.
A meeting with non-governmental organisations (NGOs) working on disability, HIV/AIDS and micro-credit is also scheduled for Wolfensohn.
The World Bank chief last visited Pakistan in May 2002. At that time, he praised Pakistan's ongoing commitment to its broad range reform programme, emphasising that these reforms were much needed to accelerate growth and increase expenditures on education, health and poverty reduction across the country.
Since then Pakistan has consolidated its remarkable economic turnaround with growth increasing above 6 percent per year, the debt burden falling substantially, and poverty-related spending rising steadily.
The World Bank Vice-President for the South Asia Region, Praful Patel, and John Wall, the World Bank's Country Director for Pakistan, will be accompanying Wolfensohn during his stay.