BEIJING: Federal Finance Minister Ishaq Dar has said that Pakistan is well-placed for, and committed to, enhancing regional financing connectivity for benefit and prosperity of the people of our region. “We look forward to working with partner countries in One Belt-One Road (OBOR) to achieve this objective,” he said while addressing the special session of the Belt and Road Forum on the theme of Financial Connectivity in Beijing on Sunday. The Minister was speaking as a panelist along with Finance Ministers of UK and Hungary. He said, “The OBOR initiative has the potential to create the world’s largest platform for economic cooperation, financial integration, trade and the integration of markets.” He added that, “OBOR provides a unique opportunity to connect countries and achieve higher growth in the region.” The Minister went on to say that, “Regional connectivity, along with economic and financial integration, is the way forward for a prosperous future for the Asian region, and for better access to regional and global markets for Pakistan.” “We are actively engaged and investing in such initiatives, including OBOR and the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC),” he said. “Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif views regional connectivity projects as a top priority for the betterment of Pakistan and the region,” the Minister remarked. Ishaq Dar said, “A strong and efficient financial system will serve as the backbone for the success of OBOR. Given the diversity of economic conditions, financial systems and regulatory environments of the countries involved in OBOR, a well thought-out and systematic approach needs to be adopted to address the risks and challenges of integrating financial systems.” “This is vital for ensuring that the financial systems remain strong and stable so that they are able to withstand any economic or financial shocks,” he said. Minister Dar said, “In Pakistan, new financing institutions such as the Pakistan Development Fund (PDF) and Pakistan Infrastructure Bank (PIB) were coming up.” PDF will focus on financing commercially viable, public sector infrastructure projects, while PIB is being set up in partnership with IFC to focus on enhancing private financing and investment for infrastructure projects in Pakistan,” he added. On the sidelines of the main event Minister had meetings with MD IMF, Christine Lagarde, President World Bank,Jim Yong Kim, Saudi Finance Minister, Mohammed Al-Jadaan and President AIIB, Jin Liqun. He also signed Guidelines on Financing of OBOR along with Finance Ministers and representatives of 18 other countries.