Key Takeaways
- Federal Minister Ahad Khan Cheema met with WBG President Ajay Banga to seek continued financing.
- Discussions focused on translating macroeconomic stabilization into sustainable growth and improved livelihoods.
- Cheema highlighted Pakistan’s whole-of-government reform efforts to address systemic bottlenecks.
Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Pakistan’s Governor to the World Bank Group, Ahad Khan Cheema, met with WBG President Ajay Banga during the 2026 WBG-IMF Annual Meetings in Bangkok to seek continued World Bank financing for the National Artificial Intelligence and Economic Development Program.
Both parties discussed strategies to translate macroeconomic stabilization into sustainable, investment-led growth, productive employment, and improved livelihoods, building on Banga’s February 2026 visit to Pakistan.
Cheema acknowledged the World Bank’s operational efficiency gains, noting a reduction in average project preparation time from 19 months to nine months and record $112 billion in private capital mobilization in FY2026.
Highlighting Pakistan’s whole-of-government reform effort, led by the Prime Minister’s Steering Committee, Cheema emphasized the need to address systemic bottlenecks and expedite project execution.
Both sides agreed to streamline processes further and accelerate the delivery of development outcomes, with a focus on CPF implementation and policy reforms.
The minister stressed the importance of aligning these reforms with large-scale, high-impact investments in digital transformation and AI, minerals and value addition, primary healthcare, skills development, agricultural value chains, energy, and transport infrastructure.
Cheema emphasized that the partnership must deliver lasting outcomes with credible monitoring and tangible improvements for end beneficiaries, ensuring that the investments yield significant benefits for the Pakistani people.
