Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue, Mr. Shaukat Tarin, held a virtual meeting with Mr. Hartwig Schafer, Vice President South Asia Region, World Bank Group at the Finance Division today. Federal Minister for Energy Muhammad Hammad Azhar, Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Division Omar Ayub Khan, SAPM on Finance and Revenue Dr. Waqar Masood, Secretary Finance Division, Secretary Power Division and other senior officers participated in the meeting. In his opening remarks, the Vice President, World Bank expressed concerns over resurgence of COVID-19 pandemic during the third wave in South Asia and the alarming increase in the number of active infections and corresponding fatalities. In his remarks, the Finance Minister apprised that the third wave of COVID-19 is particularly challenging as Pakistan is going for an aggressive smart lockdown to curtail the spread of virus across the country. While reviewing the progress on ongoing World Bank’s projects and programs, the Secretary Power Division underlined that Pakistan is pursuing policy of targeted subsidies in the Power sector. The Government is firmly committed to subsidy rationalization (in phases) for bringing efficiency and improving service delivery, he added. In his concluding remarks, the Finance Minister said that the Government’s focus would be on socio-economic development, better financial management, building resilient institutions, reforming energy sector, strengthening social sector and enhancing revenue generation during these testing times, he added. The World Bank appreciated the Government’s relief initiatives to curtail the impact of COVID-19 effectively and reiterated continuous support to the Government and people of Pakistan during the ongoing third wave.
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