Pakistan urges World Bank to finance energy, water projects

President of Pakistan Mamnoon Hussain on Monday emphasized upon the World Bank (WB) to consider financing the energy and water resource projects in Pakistan as the country was facing acute energy and water crises adversely affecting the economy. According to an official press release, the President in a meeting with Country Director WB Pakistan, Rachid Benmessaoud at President House said that WB could play a major role in supporting the efforts of Pakistan's government in addressing the power and energy problems. He appreciated the working relationship of the World Bank with Pakistan over a period of time and expressed confidence that the World Bank would continue extending its support for the development projects in the country. The WB Director briefed the President about the new Country Partnership Strategy (CPS) of the World Bank for the next five years (2015-19) and also about various projects of the Bank aimed at socio-economic development of Pakistan, said the press release. The CEM of the World Bank highlighted six urgent major actions for the government's consideration including initialization of reforms in the power sector. It is estimated that the annual economic growth could be 1.5-2% higher without the load-shedding crisis, the CEM said. The World Bank said that special attention should be given to the most vulnerable people or areas, adding that special measures will also be needed to ensure that the most conflict-affected areas are not left out.