https://arab.news/cqx4a
- World Bank’s new Country Partnership Framework with Pakistan commits a record $40 billion through 2035
- The Bank warned this week that Pakistan’s poverty rate rose to 25.3% in 2023-24 after years of steady decline
ISLAMABAD: The top World Bank official on Wednesday assured Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif of support for Pakistan’s economic reforms and climate resilience initiatives on the sidelines of the 80th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, according to an official Pakistani statement.
The meeting built on the World Bank’s Country Partnership Framework (CPF) for 2026–2035, approved earlier this year, under which the Bank has committed a record $40 billion to Pakistan.
Sharif briefed World Bank Group President Ajay Banga on his government’s reform agenda, including resource mobilization, energy sector reforms, privatization and climate resilience measures, which he said had steered the economy toward stabilization, restored investor confidence and promoted inclusive growth.
“President World Bank appreciated the reform measures being undertaken by Pakistan and reaffirmed the Bank’s commitment to Pakistan’s development agenda,” Sharif’s office in Islamabad said. “He emphasized the Bank’s readiness to extend continued support for advancing economic reforms and undertaking long-term initiatives on climate resilience under the new CPF.”
Sharif also praised Banga’s leadership in reshaping the Bank into a faster, more efficient and impactful development partner, highlighting its role during the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2022 floods.
Both sides reaffirmed their resolve to strengthen cooperation under the CPF to advance Pakistan’s development priorities.
Pakistan has received over $48.3 billion in World Bank assistance since joining the institution in 1950.
The Bank’s current portfolio includes 54 projects with commitments totaling $15.7 billion.
Just a day earlier, the Bank warned that Pakistan’s gains in poverty reduction had reversed in recent years, with the national poverty rate rising to 25.3 percent in 2023-24 after nearly two decades of decline.