Finance Minister Shamshad Akhtar committed to fostering inclusive economic growth

Finance-Minister-Shamshad-Akhtar

Finance Minister Shamshad Akhtar has said the interim government is committed to fostering inclusive economic growth, attracting investments, and addressing socio-economic challenges in Pakistan.

According to the media reports, the Caretaker Federal Minister for Finance Dr. Shamshad Akhtar expressed her views while talking to Country Lead (Pak), Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) Syed Ali Mahmood and CEO of Karandaaz Waqas ul Hasan in Islamabad today (Wednesday, September 27). She emphasized the importance of public-private partnerships in achieving sustainable development goals and inclusive growth and welcomed the contributions of the BMGF and Karandaaz in this regard.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s support for the Raast, Pakistan Instant Payment System, the integrated social safety net program, and the BMGF’s offer of assistance on the Digital Pakistan Stack were all discussed at the meeting. The discussion also covered other potential areas for cooperation, such as climate finance and scaling up conditional cash transfers to integrated social payments.    

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The CEO of Karandaaz Waqas ul Hasan gave the Minister a briefing on the Raast-Pakistan Instant Payment System support provided by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation through Karandaaz and described the main components of the Digital Pakistan Stack, such as the subsequent generation of Raast-supported Digital Public Infrastructure that Pakistan can implement with the Foundation’s assistance. Raast, which currently has over 33 million unique IDs, has already processed transactions worth over four trillion rupees, the speaker continued.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s plan to create an integrated social safety net program for better immunization, nutrition, women’s economic development, and financial inclusion was also mentioned.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s support for Raast and the integrated social safety net program was acknowledged by the Minister, who also supported the notion of signing a Memorandum of Understanding to formally confirm future funding for the Digital Pakistan Stack.

The MoU for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s support through Karandaaz would be inked alongside the World Bank meetings in Morocco in October 2023, it was decided. The Federal Minister for Finance will serve as the chairman of the National Financial Inclusion Council, which will be in charge of carrying out the Digital Pakistan Stack.

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