Pakistan, ADB agree to set up working group for ML-1 project, railways reforms

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Ahad Cheema and Asian Development Bank (ADB) Vice President Yingming Yang have agreed to immediately initiate the process of establishing a joint working group to advance institutional reforms in Pakistan Railways.

The proposal for the working group was discussed by the ADB vice president during a meeting with Cheema.

The minister said that the forum would provide an effective platform to monitor and accelerate progress on institutional reforms in Pakistan Railways.

Cheema described the Main Line-1 (ML-1) railway project as a flagship initiative of national importance, saying it remained among Pakistan’s key national priorities.

Yang welcomed the strong progress and momentum generated by the Pakistani government on ML-1 and said the ADB would continue working closely with Islamabad to help initiate practical work on the project at the earliest.

Cheema said that the ADB had been a trusted and longstanding development partner of Pakistan for six decades. He also welcomed the approval of the bank’s Country Partnership Strategy 2026-2030 for Pakistan.

Cheema said that fiscal, structural and governance reforms undertaken over the past three to four years had helped restore confidence in the economy and laid a stronger foundation for macroeconomic stability and sustainable economic growth.

He said the improvement in Pakistan’s credit rating was a reflection of the government’s reform efforts and improving economic stability.

The ADB vice president welcomed the improvement in Pakistan’s sovereign credit rating and the progress made towards macroeconomic stability.

Cheema urged the ADB to increase its activities and investment in Pakistan’s private sector.

Yang said the bank would further expand its private-sector portfolio in the country.

The minister said that privatisation remained a key government priority and that work was under way on an effective public-private partnership framework and a strong pipeline of viable projects.

Yang appreciated the government’s project-readiness reforms and praised measures aimed at facilitating modern financing mechanisms, including policy-based guarantees and guarantees for the issuance of Panda bonds.

The two sides also discussed promoting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), export-led growth and targeted skills development programmes.

They exchanged views on strengthening electricity transmission and distribution infrastructure, water and food security, and technical assistance programmes.

Both sides agreed to accelerate implementation of development projects and increase private-sector participation, while maintaining close coordination to translate the strong Pakistan-ADB partnership into tangible economic outcomes.