Federal Minister for Finance Senator Ishaq Dar had a meeting with the Executive Director, Asian Development Bank (ADB) Sami Saeed here on Tuesday. The Finance Minister welcomed the ADB Executive Director and shared with him details of his recent visit to Beijing for signing Articles of Agreement of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). The Minister also exchanged views with Sami Saeed on ADB's development programmes in Pakistan.
Sami Saeed said AIIB had an important role to play for infrastructure development in Asian countries, specifically Pakistan where the Government was focused on the energy, infrastructure and communication projects. He said the establishment of AIIB would help ADB in becoming more competitive and come up with better investment plans for its development partners. He added that Pakistan government's positive measures for economic reforms had earned confidence of foreign investors who were eager to invest in mega projects in the country.
Sami Saeed also referred to Finance Minister's meetings in Baku where he had presented Pakistan's case for financing requirements in an emphatic manner and said ADB was considering enhancing funding for Pakistan. He informed the Minister that ADB had approved on June 30 the amount of $225 million for the flood affectees, out of which 65 percent will be for retroactive financing. Another $400 million were ready to be disbursed to Pakistan after the Board approval under the Energy Sector Reforms Programme.-PR