ISLAMABAD – Pakistan and France Wednesday signed a 100 million Euros credit facility agreement for the sustainable energy sector reform program.
The accord to this effect was signed by Tariq Mahmood Pasha, Secretary, Economic Affairs Division (EAD), Mr René Consolo, Chargé d’Affaire Embassy of France, and Mr Jacky Amprou, Country Director of the French Agency for Development (AFD).
Under the accord, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has also approved $300 million in co-financing of the program.
On the occasion, Finance Minister, Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar congratulated EAD and AFD on the signing of the agreement. He underscored the importance of reforms in the energy sector, that he said will directly impact the overall economic growth of Pakistan.
He expressed appreciation for AFD’s continuous support for development projects in Pakistan, including the energy sector. He said signing of this agreement will further strengthen economic cooperation between Pakistan and France.
The implementation of the programmes aims at revamping of energy sector in order to make it more affordable, reliable and sustainable, besides supporting the country’s economic growth, and alleviating the energy crisis through expeditious implementation of the National Power Policy, 2013.
This reform program will help in improving the financial viability of the power sector by better managing tariff and subsidies, improving sector performance and opening up the market to private participation. The program will also facilitate in improving the transparency as well as accountability of power sector institutions.-Online
