The Prime Minister of Pakistan on Friday witnessed the signing ceremony of the financing agreements worth $1.50 billion with the three International Financial Institutions (IFIs);

  • The World Bank (WB)
  • The Asian Development Bank (ABB),
  • The Asian Infrastructure Development Bank (AIIB).

This is concessional financing in the form of budgetary support being provided by the three IFIs that will help mitigate the socioeconomic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, strengthen health, education, and social safety nets systems. The three programs’ details are:-

  • COVID-19 Active Response and Expenditure Support Program (CARES) $500 million: The Asian Development Bank is extending financial support of US$500 million for this program with the objective to support the Government of Pakistan’s efforts to strengthen the health system and mitigate socioeconomic impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic.
  • The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank is extending co-financing of $500 million for the COVID-19 Active Response and Expenditure Support Program (CARES) to augment the Government’s efforts to mitigate the direct and indirect impacts of COVID-19 pandemic.

The scope of the CARES program covers:

  1. Social protection for the poor and vulnerable,
  2. An expanded health sector response to the pandemic;
  3. A pro-poor fiscal stimulus package to ensure recovery in growth and employment.
  4. Securing Human Investments to Foster Transformation (SHIFT) $500 Million: Aiming to strengthen the Civil Registration & Vital Statistics, health and education systems essential for Human Capital (HC) accumulation; recognize and support the contribution of women to economic productivity, and improve the efficiency of the national safety nets.

Noor Ahmed, Secretary, Ministry of Economic Affairs signed the three loan agreements on behalf of Government of Pakistan while Patchamuthu Illangovan, Country Director, WB, Xiaohong Yang, Country Director, ADB and Konstantin Limitovsriy, Vice President, AIIB signed agreements on behalf of the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank respectively.

The disbursement of $1.500 billion will be disbursed to Pakistan in the next few days.

The Country Directors of WB & ADB reiterated their commitments to support Pakistan and appreciated the government’s resolve, efforts, and measures to fight the pandemic.

Makhdum Khusro Bakhtyar, Minister for Economic Affairs while thanking the three IFIs for their continued support, especially in times of pandemic crisis, said that this reflects the confidence of the IFIs and the international development community in government’s policies and endeavors in the structural reforms process.

The post Pakistan Signs $1.5 Billion Agreements With International Financial Institutions appeared first on .