The prime minister emphasised at the meeting held on the fringes of the World Economic Forum (WEF) Special Meeting that Pakistan was making every effort to eradicate polio from the nation, according to a news release from the PM Office.

Prior to this, both leaders had participated in a high-level panel discussion on “Redefining the Global Health Agenda” at the WEF.

Upon his reelection, the prime minister expressed gratitude to Bill Gates for his heartfelt message of congratulations. In order to ensure the success of the immunisation programme, Bill Gates emphasised the need to replicate the same process nationwide. He cited the immunisation and polio vaccine programme in Punjab province, which was managed by Shehbaz Sharif in his capacity as chief minister.

A deeper connection between Pakistan and the Gates Foundation is what the prime minister pledged to ensure while reminiscing fondly about his former tenure’s encounters with Bill Gates.

He expressed his gratitude to the BMGF for its ongoing assistance in Pakistan’s polio eradication effort. Bill Gates commended Pakistan’s efforts and stated that the elimination of polio was essential to shielding future generations from this debilitating illness.

Along with polio, Bill Gates and Prime Minister Shehbaz also spoke about the advancements being made in Pakistan and the Foundation’s ongoing work in the fields of nutrition, financial inclusion, and vaccination.

In addition to seeking cooperation in IT, STEM education, and disaster management, the prime minister declared that the Gates Foundation was a reliable partner in Pakistan’s socioeconomic development.

Recalling Bill Gates’ February 2022 visit to Pakistan, the prime minister invited him back at a time of his choosing.

During the special meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Riyadh, Pakistan’s Finance Minister Aurangzeb discussed the country’s consideration of adopting digital money.

“Even though we bring in Rs9.4 trillion a year, half of our economy is undocumented,” he said.

Aurangzeb added that a deal to enable the full digitalization of the economy was struck with McKinsey on Friday.

The finance minister declared, “They are coming in and helping us with the end-to-end digitalization of our economy.”

The urgent necessity to put in place a framework for a green tax economy was stressed by FinMin Aurangzeb.

He said that even global organisations like the World Bank (WB) are investigating novel financing arrangements.

The minister emphasised the need to address the nation’s financial needs through a combination of domestic and foreign funding sources.

Governor Jameel Ahmad of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) originally disclosed plans to introduce the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), Pakistan’s first digital currency, back in July 2023.

While briefing the Senate’s Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue, he said these things. Under the direction of Senator Saleem Mandviwalla, the meeting was conducted at Parliament House.

The committee was informed that the SBP is attempting to gain insight from the experience of other central banks that are attempting to introduce digital currency on a trial basis.

The second phase of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) crackdown on smoke-emitting enterprises has begun, according to Punjab Marriyum Aurangzeb, the senior minister.

Teams from the Environmental Protection Agency conducted raids at the Lahore-Sialkot Motorway.

The mapping of companies that release large amounts of smoke has started, according to Ms. Aurangzeb, and the legislative process is also in progress.

According to the Punjab senior minister, legislation imposing penalties and fines on smoke-emitting firms would come following an appeal to industry to contribute to air purification.

An extensive directive supporting proactive steps to increase environmental awareness to solve the growing smog issue was issued earlier in February by the Lahore High Court (LHC).

Educational institutions were instructed to set aside one session each week for environmental and plant awareness by Justice Shahid Karim’s written ruling from the court.

In order to foster in students a sense of accountability and care for their environment, the court plans to incorporate environmental education and awareness into the weekly schedules of educational institutions.