In a bid to mitigate the economic problems of the cash-strapped nation, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Tuesday reaffirmed its resolve to continue working closely with Pakistan.
The development came during a meeting between Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and a delegation of the executive directors of the ADB of Japan, China, and South Korea in Islamabad.
Speaking on the occasion, the premier lauded ADB’s longstanding association with Pakistan and for being a reliable partner in the socioeconomic development of the country.
He appreciated the ADB's generous support in the wake of the 2022 floods. This includes the emergency relief grant, post-disaster needs assessment, and pledges made during the climate resilience conference in Geneva.
The prime minister also lauded ADB’s financing across key economic sectors of Pakistan, particularly transport, energy, climate change, and social sector. He expressed the hope that the bank would continue its strong partnership with Islamabad in addressing the country’s macroeconomic challenges.
The participants were apprised that the 9th review under the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme is progressing well with a staff-level agreement expected in the next few days.
The prime minister underlined that Islamabad is committed to completing the reforms agreed upon in the programme.
The ADB’s executive directors expressed their deep satisfaction with the government’s efforts in addressing the huge challenges of the devastation caused by the recent floods.
Floods caused by abnormal monsoon rains and a melting glacier submerged huge swathes of the country earlier this year and killed nearly 1,700 people, the majority of them children and women.
It is pertinent to mention here that the ADB and Pakistan had signed a $475 million loan agreement for flood relief, taking the total for the year to $2.7 billion with the agency in December last year.
The economic affairs minister had said the concessionary ADB loan was signed at the rate of 1% for a period of 40 years.
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