World Bank Launches $20 Billion CPF Project for Pakistan’s Development

The initiative aims to foster economic stability, create employment opportunities, advance IT-led initiatives, and build climate resilience.

Thu Jan 23 2025
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KEY POINTS

  • World Bank’s Vice President praises Pakistan’s economic reforms and reaffirms the bank’s support for sustainable growth and development.
  • The Country Partnership Framework (CPF) aims to address Pakistan’s economic challenges, foster IT-led growth, and enhance climate resilience.
  • PM Shehbaz hails the CPF as a landmark initiative forged through a decade of strategic cooperation with the World Bank.
  • The CPF will fund projects in health, education, climate resilience, and post-2022 flood rehabilitation.

 

ISLAMABAD: World Bank on Thursday launched the $20 billion Country Partnership Framework (CPF) project in Pakistan, aimed at fostering economic stability, creating employment opportunities, advancing IT-led initiatives, and building climate resilience to ensure economic stability in the country.

This mega project marks a major step forward in the country’s collaboration with the global financial institution. Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif hailed the transformative partnership for the country’s development.

Speaking at the launch ceremony, the prime minister termed the CPF initiative of the World Bank as a landmark initiative forged through decade-long strategic cooperation to ensure the country’s development.

The Country Partnership Framework is a transformative initiative marking the longest-ever development partnership between Pakistan and the global financial institution. The strategic collaboration aims to address Pakistan’s pressing economic and developmental challenges while fostering growth, climate resilience, and technological advancement.

The prime minister underscored that the World Bank had supported Pakistan through various pivotal projects, ranging from hydropower and water management to transformative economic reforms.

He expressed gratitude to the World Bank team for their leadership in shaping the framework, describing it as a timely intervention to overcome Pakistan’s immense challenges.

PM Shehbaz highlighted the progress in digitizing the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), introducing a pilot project at Karachi Port to reduce collusion between importers and customs officials. The initiative, which features faceless interactions, aims to increase inland revenue while curbing corruption, he added.

“These funds will be channelled into social protection projects for Pakistan’s most vulnerable populations,” the prime minister explained.

ALSO READ: World Bank Pledges $20 Billion for Pakistan’s Development Plan

PM Shehbaz assured the government’s all-out commitment to implementing the CPF, urging unity among politicians, experts and bureaucrats to achieve the framework’s ambitious targets.

PM Shehbaz lauds World Bank

“The (World Bank’s) vice president’s presence here demonstrates the World Bank’s confidence in Pakistan’s evolving system, which is taking bold, overdue steps toward vibrancy and functionality,” he remarked.

The prime minister thanked the World Bank Vice President in German language and underscored Pakistan’s readiness for a new era of development, with an emphasis on public-private partnerships and sustainable growth under the CPF.

Country Partnership Framework, CPF, World Bank, Prime Minister, Shehbaz Sharif, Pakistan, Economic

World Bank Vice President for South Asia Region Martin Raiser praised Pakistan’s recent economic reforms and reiterated the institution’s commitment to the partnership.

“The CPF will anchor the economic stability needed for Pakistan and the region,” he said, commending the prime minister’s leadership and urging continued collaboration to ensure the program’s success.

Pakistan’s Economic Affairs Division Minister Ahad Khan Cheema also emphasised the CPF’s scope, noting its $20 billion investment in health, education, climate resilience, and rehabilitation projects following the devastating 2022 floods.

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