World Bank's executive directors visit Pakistan after 20 years

Listen to article

A delegation of nine World Bank Executive Directors has arrived in Pakistan, marking the first such visit in two decades.

The delegation will meet with the Prime Minister, Finance Minister, Minister for Planning, Minister for Energy, and Minister for Economic Affairs to discuss the effective implementation of $40 billion in funding.

The delegation will discuss strategies for the effective implementation of the Country Partnership Framework.

Additionally, the delegation will visit the provinces to review developmental initiatives and formulate strategies. The team is scheduled to visit Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh, Punjab, and Balochistan.

Previously, World Bank Vice President for South Asia, Martin Raiser, stated that the $20 billion lending will be insufficient to achieve the 10 years' development goals, and Pakistan will have to mobilise more resources to overcome its challenges.

In a statement issued after a week-long visit to Pakistan, Raiser appeared to balance the optimism surrounding the $20 billion Country Partnership Framework with Pakistan's actual financing needs to address the human capital crisis.

"The World Bank Group's support will not be sufficient to achieve the ambitious targets set forth. Attracting private sector investment by improving the business climate is thus the need of the hour," said Raiser in a statement issued by the country office after the end of the visit.

Meanwhile, Pakistan has begun preparations for securing another $1.5 billion loan programme from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), with negotiations scheduled to take place later this month.

Two IMF delegations are expected to visit Pakistan to conduct an economic review for both the new loan programme and the next tranche of the already approved $7 billion programme.

The total discussions will cover a combined loan amount of $2.5 billion.

According to sources, an IMF delegation will visit Pakistan on February 24 to negotiate the $1.5 billion concessional loan. This new loan programme is reportedly aimed at addressing the damages caused by climate change.