ISLAMABAD, Oct 24 (APP):Federal Minster for Economic Affairs, Sardar Ayaz Sadiq here on Monday appreciated the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for its generous and timely financial flood assistance in the form of a US$3 million grant and approval of the US$ 1.5 billion Building Resilience with Active Counter cyclical Expenditures (BRACE) Program.
The minister was talking to ADB’s Director General Central and West Asia Regional Department, Eugene Zhukov who called on him here, according to a press statement issued by the Economic Affairs ministry.
The minister extended gratitude to Eugene Zhukov for his leadership and support to Pakistan, especially for the recent floods disaster.
He underscored that the BRACE Program would mitigate the adverse impact of the cumulative exogenous shocks, especially to the poor and vulnerable caused by the unprecedented rains and flash floods.
The Minister for Economic Affairs assured the Director General that the Government is committed to prioritizing and increasing funding for key economic sectors including; social protection (to BISP), food security, domestic resource mobilization, energy reforms, trade and development, and enhanced support for business entities.
He further assured that the Ministry is in consultation with the other concerned Ministries and with the Provincial Governments for better coordination. “We will show you performance by pushing things positively and taking actions against non-performance” said Minister for Economic Affairs.
Earlier, Zhukov apprised the minister about the repurposing of existing ADB portfolio to the tune of US$ 475 million for an emergency assistance loan for rehabilitation and reconstruction of the flood-affected areas in Sindh, Baluchistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
He also appreciated the regular meetings of the National Coordination Committee (NCC) on Foreign Funded Projects conducted by the Ministry of Economic Affairs which is helping push forward the delayed projects.
Zhukov also highlighted the ADB’s support for the government’s priority sectors which include; renewable energy, disaster management, and climate resilience, smart agriculture, urban sector development, and social services, which was appreciated by the minister.
