Days After $500 Million Cleared By IMF, World Bank Loans Over $1 Billion To Pakistan

Earlier in the week, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) too agreed to release the next tranche of USD 500 million loan for Pakistan after approving four pending reviews of the country's economic progress.

The World Bank has signed agreements with Pakistan to provide a loan of USD 1.336 billion for assistance to boost the cash-strapped country's foreign exchange reserves and help support social sector programmes. A total of six project agreements, worth USD 1.336 billion in loans, including a USD 128-million grant, were signed on Friday to support the government's initiatives in social protection, disaster and climate risk management, improving infrastructure for resilience, agriculture, food security, human capital development and governance sectors, Pakistan's Dawn newspaper reported. Secretary of Ministry of Economic Affairs Noor Ahmad, signed the financing agreements on behalf of the government of Pakistan, while representatives of the provincial governments of Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan signed their respective agreements online. Najy Benhassine, Country Director of the World Bank, signed the agreements on behalf of his organisation. Minister for Economic Affairs Khusro Bakhtyar also attended the ceremony.