Regional Director, International Finance Corporation (IFC) for the Middle East, Pakistan and Afghanistan, Khawaja Aftab Ahmed called on Caretaker Minister for Planning Development & Special Initiatives Muhammad Sami Saeed on Thursday and discussed potential area of enhancing IFC engagement in Pakistan, Khawaja Aftab was accompanied by his team including Zeeshan Sheikh, Country Manager IFC to Pakistan and Afghanistan and others. Chief Executive Officer CEO, P3A Board, Malik Muhammad Ahmad Khan, Chief Economist of Pakistan Dr Nadeem Javaid and Member Private Sector Development Planning Commission, Asim Saeed were also present in the meeting. The IFC is a member of the World Bank Group and offers investment, advisory and asset management services to encourage private sector investments in developing countries. The Planning Minister appreciated the role of the corporation in promoting private sector development in Pakistan. He also discussed potential means of enhancing IFC engagement in Pakistan, particularly for trade finance, microfinance, Agriculture and other key sectors. The Minister appraised the delegation over the recently established Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) under a collaborative approach to prioritize five key areas of national economy including agriculture, information technology, mine and minerals, defence production and energy. The Minister said that a one-window facility has been established to fetch foreign investment to unlock the potential in the select areas and emphasized to attract investment in these sectors while urging IFC to provide necessary assistance to public and private sector companies. It is noted that SIFC is an economic revival plan that is being implemented under the-whole-of-the-government approach. On the occasion, Regional Director IFC, assured the Planning Minister of IFC’s continued support to Pakistan particularly in key areas identified by SIFC. The Minister assured all the facilitation required by IFC in this regard. *********
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