The World Bank''''s newly appointed Chief Executive Officer, Kristalina Georgieva will make her first country visit to South Asia. She will begin with a visit to Pakistan from Thursday and India in the coming weeks to learn about Bank operations and development challenges as well as to discuss issues facing India and Pakistan with the Indus Waters Treaty.
India, Pakistan and the World Bank are signatories to the Treaty and are in discussions about how to resolve disagreements the two countries have over the interpretation of the treaty''''s provisions in the context of India''''s construction of two hydroelectric power plants.
"India and Pakistan are important partners and clients of the World Bank Group. We have longstanding relationships in support of their goals to improve education, create jobs, transform their energy sectors and improve people''''s lives," said Georgieva. "I look forward to meet leaders from both countries to gain a deeper understanding of their development goals as well as to fully appreciate all perspectives related to the Indus Waters Treaty."
This week, Georgieva, who has started her new job on January 2, will meet the senior leadership of Pakistan to discuss how best to support the country in making the most of its economic potential. She will also be visiting project sites and talking with people benefiting from the World Bank''''s support.
Maintaining its neutral role as a Treaty signatory, the World Bank in December announced a pause in the separate processes initiated by India and Pakistan under the Indus Waters Treaty to allow the two countries to consider alternative ways to resolve their differences, in line with the spirit of the treaty.
Georgieva is accompanied by Annette Dixon, Vice President for the South Asia Region of the World Bank. The Bank delivered 50 projects of total $8.8 billion in the 2016 financial year (ending June 30), including $5.1 billion of International Development Association commitments (of which $225 million went to the IDA Scale-up Facility) and $3.6 billion in loans from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD). Lending included such transformational operations as the $1.5 billion Swachh Bharat Mission Support Operation, which seeks to end open defecation in India; and a $920 million package of IDA and IBRD funding that supports competitiveness and structural reform in Pakistan.-PR