PRESS
RELEASE
February 10,
2016
KARACHI,
February 10, 2016—World Bank Group (WBG) President Jim Yong Kim concluded a
two-day visit to Pakistan by urging the country to raise the ambition of its
economic reforms while also encouraging the private sector to take a bigger
role in creating jobs, especially for youth and women.
On the
second day of his visit to Pakistan, Kim met with students, women entrepreneurs
and other representatives of the private sector in Karachi and said they could
all play a role in strengthening the country’s economy and helping the
government to improve the investment climate.
“I have been
impressed over the last two days with the achievements of the people of
Pakistan and would encourage the country to be more ambitious with reforming
its economy so that more people are lifted out of poverty more quickly and
prosperity is more widely shared,” Kim said. “I had excellent talks with the
country’s leaders and people on strengthening the role of the private sector
for job creation, accelerating energy reforms, making improvements at the
community level for health and education, and ensuring that anti-poverty
measures are effective at reaching poor people.”
At a
discussion organized at the Institute of Business Administration on “Social
Innovation and Inclusion”, Kim praised the role of emerging female
entrepreneurs and said youth is a great asset for Pakistan’s development. He
assured the audience of students, faculty members, media and female
entrepreneurs that the WBG would continue to support skills development and
creation of quality jobs for youth and women.
“Evidence
shows that when women have greater control over household funds, or
agricultural resources, it can have significant payoffs. At a time when the
world is looking for additional drivers of growth, there’s an untapped market
out there that everyone should invest in more: women.” said Kim. “The number of
young people in Pakistan is growing rapidly and so job creation is a priority
and this is where the private sector can play a huge role.”
While in
Karachi, Kim called on the Sindh leadership, and heard about the reform agenda
and the development priorities of the province. They exchanged ideas on how the
World Bank can help the province in effective implementation of its projects.
On his first
day in Pakistan, Kim met in Islamabad with the prime minister and his economic
team and secretaries from provincial and federal governments. He also participated
in a launch event for WBG support to Pakistan’s financial inclusion reform
agenda, “Pakistan’s Path towards Universal Financial Access”, with Queen Máxima
of the Netherlands, and Finance Minister Ishaq Dar. Kim also participated in a
panel discussion on “Managing Displaced Populations”. He also met with
provincial leadership of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab and Balochistan.
The World
Bank Group in Pakistan:
The World
Bank’s program in Pakistan is governed by its Country Partnership Strategy
(CPS) agreed with the government. The World Bank Pakistan portfolio has 26
investment lending projects under implementation with a total net commitment of
$4.99 billion. To date, we have committed over $5.6 billion in Pakistan,
including $1.2 billion during the 2015 fiscal year. IFC’s advisory services
program in Pakistan is one of its largest in the region, with 13 active
projects and a funding commitment of over $20 million.
http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2016/02/10/pakistan-can-grow-with-reforms-says-world-bank-president#
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