World Bank Pledges $20 Billion to Pakistan

Global lending body approves first-ever 10-year Country Partnership Framework for Pakistan

Wed Jan 15 2025
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ISLAMABAD: The World Bank has pledged $20 billion under its first-ever 10-year Country Partnership Framework (CPF) to Pakistan.

According to a statement, the global lending body aimed to support inclusive and sustainable development with a focus on building human capital, fostering durable private sector growth and building economic, social and environmental resilience in the country.

“Our new decade-long partnership framework for Pakistan represents a long-term anchor for our joint commitment with the government to address some of the most acute development challenges facing the country: child stunting, learning poverty, its exceptional exposure to the impacts of climate change, and the sustainability of its energy sector,” said Najy Benhassine, World Bank Country Director for Pakistan.

Support for reforms

“Support to policy and institutional reforms that boost private sector-led growth and create fiscal space to finance the investments needed to address these challenges will remain key in our engagements,” World Bank said.

The framework, according to the statement, aimed to focus on several critical areas such as reducing child stunting through increased access to clean water and sanitation services; decreasing learning poverty through quality education; increasing resilience to floods and other climate-related disasters; increasing fiscal space and better management and more progressive public expenditures for development; and increasing productive and inclusive private investment to improve external trade balances.

Support to policy and institutional reforms that boost private sector-led growth and create fiscal space to finance the investments needed to address these challenges will remain key in our engagements.” –World Bank

“These outcomes will be supported by cross-cutting interventions in social safety nets and financial inclusion to support and protect the most vulnerable populations, particularly women, as well as digital and transport connectivity.”

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The global entity said achieving these ambitious goals will require leveraging resources through enhanced private sector engagement and increased joint financing and coordination with other development partners.

“We are focused on prioritising investment and advisory interventions that will help crowd-in much much-needed private investment in sectors critical for Pakistan’s sustainable growth and job creation, including energy and water, agriculture, access to finance, manufacturing and digital infrastructure,” said Zeeshan Sheikh, International Finance Corporation Country Manager for Pakistan and Afghanistan. “We are also collaborating with public and private partners to address key policy challenges that inhibit a more inclusive participation of the private sector in Pakistan’s economy.”

“Guarantee instruments under the World Bank Group’s Guarantee Platform will support private investment in areas consistent with the development outcomes under the CPF where the domestic and foreign private sector has a role to play,” said Şebnem Erol Madan, the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency Director of Economics and Sustainability.

Pakistan welcomes WB’s pledge

Pakistan Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday welcomed the World Bank’s pledge.

In a social media post on his X timeline, he said that CPF reflected Pakistan’s national priorities, as envisioned in its Home-Grown Economic Transformation Plan.

“CPF reflects the World Bank’s confidence in Pakistan’s economic resilience and potential. We look forward to strengthening our partnership as we align our efforts for creating lasting opportunities for our people,” he remarked.

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