Pakistan and France sign Credit Facility Agreement for Sustainable Energy Sector Reform Program

Islamabad: Pakistan and France signed 100 million Euros Credit Facility Agreement for the Sustainable Energy Sector Reform Program on Wednesday.

Mr. Tariq Mahmood Pasha, Secretary, Economic Affairs Division (EAD), Mr. René Consolo, Chargé d’Affaire a.i., Embassy of France, and Mr. Jacky Amprou, Country Director of the French Agency for Development (AFD), signed the agreement.

The Asian Development Bank has also approved $300 million in co-financing of the program.

The 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 which will directly impact the overall economic growth of Pakistan. He expressed appreciation for AFD's continuous support for development projects in Pakistan, including in the energy sector. He added that with signing of this agreement, economic cooperation between Pakistan and France would be further strengthened.

The main objective of the program is to revamp the energy sector to make it more affordable, reliable and sustainable, 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.