LAHORE: A delegation led by World Bank’s Group Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) Executive Vice President and Chief Executive Officer Keiko Honda showed interest to invest in healthcare and industrial parks in Punjab.
In a meeting with Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, the visiting dignitary said that Punjab had made splendid achievements in different sectors and the measures taken in health, education, industries were commendable. She said that close cooperation would be extended to the provincial government for increasing investment in different sectors.
The chief minister told the delegation that Pakistan’s economy was strengthened due to effective policies of the federal government and foreign exchange reserves had reached at a record level. In the energy sector, he mentioned that besides traditional methods, power generation projects were being carried out expeditiously for energy production through alternate sources.
He said that thousands of megawatts of electricity would be added to the national grid with the completion of the said energy projects by the end of next year. Shahbaz said that other sectors would also develop due to the increase in power production and the rate of annual development would increase by at least two per cent.
The chief minister said that political and military leadership were on the same page for eliminating the menace of terrorism as Zarb-e-Azb security operation had broken the back of terrorists. Rooting out of terrorists was essential for achieving the targets of socio-economic development, he added.
About the social sector, he said that the Punjab government had introduced a number of reforms for the improvement of education and health for which record resources had been provided for the purpose during the current fiscal year. The private sector had also been provided favourable conditions for business, hospitals were being upgraded and the first apparel park of the country was also being set up, he said.
The chief minister said that MIGA should consider setting up a separate institution for financing industrial sector development. Provincial ministers Rana Mashhood, Zakiya Shahnawaz, Asif Saeed, Adviser Ijaz Nabi, Planning and Development chairman, Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) Senior Vice President Almas Haider and other senior officers were present at the meeting.
