ISLAMABAD, September 2, 2026: Asian Development Bank (ADB) Vice President for South, Central and West Asia Yingming Yang reaffirmed the bank’s commitment to supporting Pakistan’s economic reform agenda, infrastructure development and private-sector investment during a meeting with Minister for Economic Affairs Ahad Cheema on Wednesday.
Yang, who is visiting Pakistan for the first time in his official capacity, called on Ahad Cheema at the Ministry of Economic Affairs. The meeting was attended by the Secretary Economic Affairs Division, ADB Executive Director and senior officials from both sides.
The minister described ADB as a longstanding development partner that has supported Pakistan’s development priorities for more than six decades. He also welcomed the bank’s approval of its Country Partnership Strategy (CPS) 2026–2030 for Pakistan.
Cheema highlighted the government’s fiscal, structural and governance reforms undertaken over the past three to four years in coordination with major development partners, including the International Monetary Fund, ADB and World Bank.
According to the minister, the reforms have helped restore confidence, strengthen macroeconomic stability and establish a stronger foundation for sustainable economic growth. He also pointed to improvements in Pakistan’s credit ratings as part of the progress made under the reform agenda.
The minister identified Main Line-1 (ML-1) as a national flagship project and emphasized the government’s focus on moving ahead with its implementation.
Cheema also said privatization remained a government priority, while work was under way to strengthen public-private partnership frameworks, improve project implementation and develop a pipeline of commercially viable projects. He urged ADB to expand its private-sector operations in Pakistan.
Yang welcomed the improvement in Pakistan’s sovereign credit ratings and acknowledged the government’s efforts to strengthen macroeconomic stability. He also appreciated initiatives aimed at improving project readiness, which he said could help accelerate the implementation of development projects.
The ADB vice president noted that Pakistan had provided the bank an opportunity to introduce innovative financing instruments, including policy-based guarantees and guarantees for the issuance of panda bonds.
He also welcomed the momentum surrounding ML-1 and reaffirmed ADB’s commitment to working closely with the Pakistani government to facilitate progress towards the project’s early groundbreaking.
Yang proposed establishing a working group focused on institutional reforms in Pakistan Railways. The proposal was welcomed, with assurances that the process would be initiated promptly to provide a platform for advancing reforms in the sector.
The ADB also indicated its intention to further expand its private-sector portfolio in Pakistan. Discussions covered a range of other areas, including strengthening small and medium-sized enterprises, promoting export-led growth, targeted skills development, improving transmission and distribution infrastructure, water and food security, and expanding technical assistance programmes.
Both sides agreed to maintain close coordination and translate the longstanding Pakistan-ADB partnership into faster implementation of development projects, greater private-sector participation and tangible economic outcomes.