ISLAMABAD: The government was committed to placing the economy on a sustainable and inclusive growth path, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar told the World Bank’s country director on Saturday.

The two met in Islamabad on Saturday, where Mr Dar briefed Najy Benhassine about the economic challenges facing Pakistan after floods and said the government was aware of these issues and “taking pragmatic steps to resolve bottlenecks to growth”.

He also informed the World Bank official about the devastations caused by the floods since mid-June.

World Bank official says $1.5bn to be mobilised this year due to emergency situation in Pakistan

Mr Benhassine informed the finance minister that the bank was allocating $2 billion funds from the existing World Bank-financed projects to help flood victims. He said $1.5bn would be mobilised this year due to the emergency situation in the country.

Mr Dar appreciated the World Bank for being a source of support in pursuing reform agenda and implementing various development projects for the country. “Pakistan values the financial and technical support provided by the World Bank for the institutional reforms and economic development of the country,” he told the bank official.

On Sept 24, World Bank’s new vice president for the South Asia region on Saturday announced that the lender was envisaging financing of about $2bn to help Pakistan strengthen resilience to climate-related risks.

“As an immediate response, we are repurposing funds from existing World Bank-financed projects to support urgent needs in health, food, shelter, rehabilitation and cash transfers,” Martin Raiser said in a statement issued at the end of his Pakistan tour.

Published in Dawn, October 9th, 2022