World Bank CEO to discuss Indus Waters Treaty during South Asia visi

WASHINGTON: The newly appointed Chief Executive Officer of the World Bank, Kristalina Georgieva, will hold discussion on the Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistani and Indian officials during her first country visits to South Asia beginning on Thursday.Georgieva will be in Pakistan on Thursday on the first leg, and will visit India in the coming weeks to learn about Bank operations and development challenges as well as to discuss issues facing India and Pakistan with the Indus Waters Treaty, the World Bank said on Wednesday.The World Bank had brokered the treaty and is a signatory along with Pakistan and India. All the three parties are in discussions about how to resolve disagreements over the interpretation of the treaty’s provisions in the context of India’s construction of two hydroelectric power plants.’India and Pakistan are important partners and clients of the World Bank Group. We have longstanding relationships in support of their goals to improve education, create jobs, transform their energy sectors, and improve people’s lives,’ said Georgieva.’I look forward to meeting leaders from both countries to gain a deeper understanding of their development goals as well as to fully appreciate all perspectives related to the Indus Waters Treaty,’ she added.This week, Georgieva, who started her new job on January 2, will meet the senior leadership of Pakistan to discuss how best to support the country in making the most of its economic potential, according to a statement from the World Bank. She will also be visiting project sites and talking with people benefiting from the World Bank’s support.The World Bank in December announced a pause in the separate processes initiated by India and Pakistan under the Indus Waters Treaty to allow the two countries to consider alternative ways to resolve their differences, in line with the spirit of the treaty.Georgieva is accompanied by Annette Dixon, Vice President for the South Asia Region of the World Bank.The Bank delivered 50 projects totaling $8.8 billion in the 2016 financial year (ending June 30), as a whole in South Asia, including $5.1 billion of International Development Association commitments, of which $225 million went to the IDA Scale-up Facility and $3.6 billion in loans from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD).Lending included such transformational operations as the $1.5 billion Swachh Bharat Mission Support Operation, which seeks to end open defecation in India; and a $920 million package of IDA and IBRD funding that supports competitiveness and structural reform in Pakistan.