ADB assures support to ML-1 Railway project

Pakistan and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) reaffirmed their commitment to advancing the Main Line-1 (ML-1) railway project during a meeting between Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and senior ADB officials at the bank’s headquarters in Manila.

 

The discussions focused on expanding cooperation in infrastructure development, regional connectivity, climate resilience, and sustainable economic growth. Dar highlighted the ML-1 project as one of the government’s flagship infrastructure priorities and requested the ADB to expedite the processing of consortium financing for the initiative.

 

ADB Vice Presidents Yingming Yang and Fatima Yasmin reiterated the bank’s commitment to supporting the project, recognizing its potential to modernize Pakistan’s railway network, strengthen regional connectivity, and promote long-term economic development.

 

On the sidelines of the 33rd ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) Ministerial Meeting, Dar also held separate meetings with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, European Union High Representative Kaja Kallas, and Bangladesh’s Foreign Minister Khalilur Rehman.

 

During his meeting with Lavrov, both sides agreed to deepen cooperation in trade, energy, connectivity, and multilateral engagement, while emphasizing the importance of sustained high-level dialogue to strengthen bilateral relations.

 

In talks with the EU’s Kaja Kallas, both leaders reaffirmed their commitment to advancing cooperation under the Pakistan-EU Strategic Engagement Plan. They exchanged views on regional developments, stressing diplomacy as the only sustainable path to peace and discussing the wider implications of the US-Iran situation for regional security, energy markets, maritime trade, and global supply chains. Dar also reiterated Pakistan’s commitment to implementing international conventions under the GSP+ framework.

 

Separately, Dar met Bangladesh’s Foreign Minister Khalilur Rehman, where both sides reviewed the positive momentum in bilateral relations and reaffirmed their commitment to expanding cooperation across areas of mutual interest.