Vice President of the World Bank’s South Asia Region Hartwig Schafer here on Wednesday acknowledged the efforts made by Pakistan for effective management of the Covid-19 crisis. During a meeting with Minister for Planning Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar, along with Country Director Najy Benhassine, he said the World Bank greatly values its partnership with Pakistan and supports the reform agenda undertaken by the present government. He said that the bank was fully committed to providing assistance to the developing countries for procurement of Covid-19 vaccines. He highlighted that Pakistan’s efforts to curtail the Covid-19 pandemic through smart lockdown approach and addressing the socio-economic challenges through a fiscal stimulus package under Prime Minister Imran Khan’s vision of lives and livelihoods were being highly recognised and appreciated by the global community. He further emphasised on timely completion of the ongoing policy reforms and development projects. He also commended the efforts of the ministry of planning to resolve the long outstanding bottlenecks and expedite the project implementation on a fast track basis which is evident from the enhanced disbursement during the last fiscal year. The planning minister welcomed the World Bank’s South Asia regional vice president and acknowledged the significant contribution of the World Bank in the socio-economic development of the country. He appreciated the pivotal role currently being played by the World Bank in strengthening governance and service delivery in Pakistan through institutional reforms being undertaken with the support of development partners.