Mr. Shixin Chen, Vice President of Asian Development Bank (ADB) along with Senior Advisor Ehsan Khan and  Country Director ADB for Pakistan Ms. Xiaohong Yang called on Prime Minister Imran Khan at PM Office today.

Minister for Economic Affairs Muhammad Hamad Azhar, Advisor on Finance Dr. Abdul Hafiz Sheikh and senior officials were present during the meeting.

Vice President ADB briefed the Prime Minister regarding short, medium and long term support to Pakistan in various sectors of the economy, particularly trade and competitiveness. He stated that Pakistan, being a founding member, is an important partner of ADB. The Vice President ADB discussed various proposals for enhancing institutional capacity of the Government that would help Pakistan achieve its development and economic stability agenda.

Mr. Chen noted that Pakistan can play a very important role in promoting regional cooperation and integration in Central and West Asia region. He informed the Prime Minister that he had fruitful meetings with SAPM on Social Protection & Poverty Alleviation Dr. Sania Nishtar and ADB wants to support the Government’s flagship Ehsaas Program.

The Prime Minister said that his government’s main focus is to help the down-trodden alleviate from poverty and that this is his personal mission. Expanding tax base, institutional reforms, and out-of-the-box solutions for service delivery are the priority areas for achieving the goal of good governance, stated the Prime Minister.