- Pakistan should focus on under-controlled factors: to rekindle.
- The BM vice-president declares that the loan of $ 20 billion in Pakistan is “conditional and indicative”.
- “Pakistan has capacities that could be used to attract investments.”
Lahore: Vice-President of the World Bank for South Asia, Martin Raiser, said that Pakistan had the potential to become an economy of a dollar billion by 2035 with an annual growth rate of 7 %.
In a statement, RAISER said that long -term projections were difficult, but that if Pakistan was seriously implemented its interior economic recovery plan, the objective could easily be achieved.
Reaching the goal was quite possible; However, key reforms and strong policies are necessary for this, he said, mentioning that the World Bank had promised to provide $ 20 billion in Pakistan over the next 10 years.
However, he said that the amount would be granted according to economic capacity and Pakistan reforms.
The vice-president also said that Pakistan should carry out key economic reforms to reach an annual growth rate of 7 %.
He added that the country should focus on the factors under its control, in particular to attract foreign investments and improve trade relations.
The official said that he had consulted representatives of various political parties and civil society in Pakistan to achieve economic consensus.
He also explained that the loan of $ 20 billion granted to Pakistan was conditional and indicative, which would correspond to the size of the country’s economy and its reimbursement capacity.
Raiser stressed that Pakistan has many capacities that could be used to attract investments.
At the same time, the vice-president also met the Minister of Finance Muhammad Aurangzeb to discuss the support of the World Bank to the main economic and tax reforms and the implementation of the tax pact aimed at improving the collection of revenues and the effectiveness of expenses.
The World Bank’s $ 20 billion financing program
Last week, the World Bank launched its financing program of several billion dollars, the country Partnership Framework for Pakistan from Fy26 to Fy35, which Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif described as “timely intervention” to help Pakistan to do Faced with several challenges, including economics, poverty and climate. Change crisis.
During the ceremony, Vice-President Raiser promised the World Bank continuous assistance in Pakistan and stressed that six sectors were targeted in the ten-year framework.
The international financial institution unveiled its plan for Pakistan at the beginning of the month, promising $ 20 billion in areas such as clean energy and climate resilience.
The World Bank said that political and institutional reforms to stimulate growth in the private sector and to expand budgetary space for public investments in crucial fields would also be essential.
“We strive to give priority to investment and advice interventions that will help attract private investment essential in essential sectors for sustainable growth and the creation of Pakistan jobs, especially energy and water , agriculture, access to financing, manufacturing industry and digital infrastructure, “said Zeeshan Sheikh. , National Director of the International Finance Company for Pakistan and Afghanistan, in a statement.
The World Bank has currently hired around $ 17 billion in Pakistan for 106 current projects.
The country has been on the verge of economic crisis for several years and economists and international financial institutions have called for major economic reforms.
Pakistan is currently the subject of a rescue program of $ 7 billion in the International Monetary Fund, which requires that the country increase its public revenues and strengthens its external funding sources, a large part of which comes from loans from China and Gulf countries.