ISLAMABAD: The approval of reforms recommended by multilateral lenders would enable the government to complete the three development policy credits (DPC) in due course of time, said Economic Reforms Minister Makhdoom Khusro Bakhtyar on Saturday.

During a meeting with World Bank Country Director for Pakistan, Najy Benhassine, Bakhtyar shared Prime Minister Imran Khan’s direction to expedite economic reforms in coordination with international lenders.

He urged the World Bank official to expand the priority areas of cooperation with Pakistan in the fields of energy, tourism, low-cost housing scheme and availability of Covid-19 vaccine.

The minister thanked the World Bank for extending $200 million package to help Pakistan take effective and timely action to respond to the pandemic.

He also appreciated the lender’s support for locust emergency control project worth $200m to mitigate the adverse impact of parasite attack on food basket of the country.

Benhassine thanked the minister for WB portfolio review exercise, and appreciated government’s resolve to expedite the implementation of funded projects.

The three DPC series projects are: Securing Human Investments to Foster Transformation (SHIFT); Resilient Institutions for Sustainable Economy (RISE); and Programme for Affordable and Clean Energy (PACE).

The World Bank Group has approved $250m for SHIFT, prepared as part of a package aimed at supporting medium-term structural reforms over the next three years focusing on fiscal management, growth and competitiveness, and human capital outcomes for productivity gains.

It is expected to strengthen civil registration and vital statistics, health and education systems essential for human capital accumulation; improve the contribution of women and girls to economic productivity, and improve federal safety nets to respond to shocks in a more efficient manner.

Currently, Pakistan is not investing enough in its people to accelerate better human capital outcomes, as evidenced by a low score in the World Bank Human Capital Index.

In June, the World Bank board of executive directors approved $500m in financing for RISE to help Pakistan strengthen fiscal management, promote transparency and private sector growth, and undertake foundational reforms in the energy sector to transition to low-carbon sources.

The programme supports reforms to broaden the tax base and reduce distortions in tax policy, strengthen debt management and transparency, and implement urgently needed reforms to achieve financial viability of the power sector.

In tandem, reforms to lower barriers to the formalisation of firms, increase the use of digital payments, and better regulate real estate developments will help create an enabling environment to attract private investment.

The third project is PACE, which will tackle power sector reforms to put the country on sustainable fiscal path.

Published in Dawn, October 4th, 2020