The government has called a meeting today (Thursday) with the country’s “friends” in an attempt to persuade them to release the financial assistance promised in the Friends of Democratic Pakistan (FODP) conference in Tokyo in 2009, a finance ministry official said.
The meeting, to be presided over by Finance Minister Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, will be held at the finance ministry and attended by ambassadors of FODP member countries and representatives of donor agencies including International Monetary Fund, World Bank and Asian Development Bank.
Secretary Finance Dr Waqar Masood confirmed that the meeting would review the pledges made in Tokyo conference and discuss how to streamline and expedite the release of promised funds.
The finance ministry official said in the budget for 2011-12 the government expected to receive Rs17.56 billion this financial year, but in the first three months (July-September) only a small amount was released.
In the Tokyo conference, the donors had pledged $5.64 billion in financial assistance and grants, but despite meetings in Brussels, Ankara and other countries, the pace of release of funds has remained quite slow.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 3rd, 2011.
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