PPRAs, MDBs join hands to formulate Pakistan National Procurement Strategy 2026-30

ISLAMABAD, Jun 16 (APP): The Federal Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (FPPRA), in collaboration with the World Bank on Tuesday convened a consultative session on the Draft National Procurement Strategy (NPS) 2026–2030.

The session brought together representatives of the Federal, Provincial and Gilgit-Baltistan Public Procurement Regulatory Authorities (PPRAs), as well as representatives of Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs), including the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), and the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), said a news release.

Addressing the session, Hasnat Ahmed Qureshi, Managing Director, Federal PPRA, emphasized the strategic importance of public procurement as a cornerstone of public financial management and national development, aligned with the Federal Government’s reform and governance agenda.

He noted that public procurement accounts for an estimated 19–20 percent of Pakistan’s GDP, underscoring the need for a coherent national reform strategy to promote more transparent, accountable, competitive, and efficient public procurement systems across the country.

Hr acknowledged the World Bank’s continued technical assistance in the development of the National Procurement Strategy and appreciated the collaborative efforts of the federal and provincial PPRAs through the Advisory Group on Public Procurement.

The formulation of the National Procurement Strategy is an initiative of the Federal Public Procurement Regulatory Authority, which builds upon the achievements of Pakistan’s first National Procurement Strategy (2013–2016) while responding to emerging priorities such as digitization of public procurement, sustainable public procurement, procurement performance monitoring and analytics, contract management, interoperability with public financial management systems, and procurement workforce professionalization.

During the session, Fayeq Deek, World Bank Consultant, presented the findings of the current state analysis and outlined the proposed strategic objectives, reform priorities, implementation arrangements, and results framework of the Strategy.

Participants engaged in detailed technical discussions to review the proposed reforms and provided recommendations to strengthen implementation arrangements and enhance reform outcomes.

The Draft Strategy is structured around four strategic objectives: modernizing the legal and regulatory framework; strengthening institutional governance and professionalizing the procurement function; advancing digital procurement and improving operational efficiency; and enhancing accountability, transparency, integrity, and performance monitoring.

Participants welcomed the comprehensive and forward-looking nature of the strategy and underscored the importance of coordinated implementation, institutional strengthening, and sustained collaboration among federal and provincial governments, development partners, and other stakeholders.

The session concluded with a shared commitment to advancing a modern, integrated, transparent, and strategically managed public procurement system that supports improved public service delivery, promotes value for money in public spending, and contributes to sustainable national development.