Islamabad: Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif hosted a breakfast meeting to welcome Asian Development Bank (ADB) Vice President for South, Central, and West Asia, Yingming Yang, to discuss ongoing and future development projects as part of the new Country Partnership Strategy (CPS) for 2026-2030.

According to Press Information Department, the meeting marked Mr. Yang’s first official visit to Pakistan in his current role. It offered an opportunity to review the longstanding partnership between Pakistan and ADB, highlighting the bank’s contributions to urban infrastructure, transportation, and public service projects across the nation. Prime Minister Sharif praised ADB’s role in facilitating transformative projects and emphasized Pakistan’s recent economic reforms that have improved the country’s financial outlook and attracted international confidence.

A key point of discussion was the modernization of the Main Line-1 (ML-1) railway corridor from Karachi to Peshawar, deemed essential for bolstering freight logistics and regional trade connectivity. The Prime Minister stressed the importance of this project in supporting industrial initiatives and called for expedited efforts towards its groundbreaking.

The meeting also explored expanding cooperation in sectors such as energy and food security, export competitiveness, and technology, including Artificial Intelligence and Information Technology. Both parties committed to translating the strategic objectives of the CPS 2026-2030 into actionable projects that aim to foster sustainable growth and improve the standard of living in Pakistan.