World Bank (WB) has agreed in principle to finance the mega project of building a highway between Peshawar and Kabul. This was disclosed by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar after his meeting with Vice President of WB for South Asian Region Ms. Annette Dixon in Washington in April. Discussing the current economic situation in Pakistan, Dar said WB had been a great partner in the country’s development. Talking to the Pakistani delegation, Ms Dixon said WB would like to work more closely with Pakistan. She appreciated the initiatives taken by the Pakistani government for putting economy on the path of sustainable economic development. During the course of discussion, Dar proposed to WB to finance a major project of constructing a highway from Peshawar to Kabul for improving regional connectivity. The World Bank has agreed in principle to finance the project. Dar also proposed that WB might consider leading a consortium to finance Diamer Bhasha Project. Dar said the government took concrete measures to bring structural changes for the sustainable economic development in the country. The minister said the government had established a Micro Finance Company to extend such facilities to the poorer segments of the society. He informed WB team that Pakistan was one of the leading countries for ensuring financial development in the country and for this purpose a strategy had been devised which was being implemented thoroughly. He said 10 more laws were being enacted which aimed at further facilitating the private sector. In response to a question about policy reforms in Pakistan, he remarked that the parliament had so far passed 24 laws to create conducive and enabling environment for growth and private sector investment. In yet another communication, WB Group President Jim Yong Kim has said that the multilateral lender does not plan to change its stance on financing alternative energy projects and mitigating the effects of climate change. Asked about the Trump administration’s scepticism about climate change at a news conference, Kim said WB would continue to work with governments and the private sector to boost financing for alternative energy, especially in China, India, Indonesia, the Philippines, Pakistan and Vietnam. “The science of climate change didn’t change with any particular election, and I don’t see that it will,” Kim said. “We have to be an evidence-based organisation,” he added.