Pakistan has received commitments for about $8 billion in financing from the global community that it requested at a conference in Geneva to help the country rebuild houses and farms along with rehabilitating people impacted by the floods.
(Bloomberg) — Pakistan has received commitments for about $8 billion in financing from the global community that it requested at a conference in Geneva to help the country rebuild houses and farms along with rehabilitating people impacted by the floods.
The nation received “generous outpouring” led by Islamic Development Bank that pledged $4.2 billion, according to Pakistan’s information minister Marriyum Aurangzeb after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif appealed for a similar amount over three years. He said the nation plans to fund the remaining half from its own resources.
The international “community and development partners are demonstrating exemplary compassion for flood victims,” Aurangzeb said in a Twitter post.
Pakistan’s floods, which inundated about a third of the nation in the summer and killed more than 1,700 people, cut the nation’s growth by half. The United Nations has previously said the global community hasn’t provided enough funds after the floods.
The Asian Development Bank “will re-prioritize up to $1 billion for climate and disaster risk reconstruction as well as resilience support over the next three years,” according to a statement by the lender, citing Vice President Shixin Chen. The World Bank announced $2 billion of support, state-owned Radio Pakistan reported, citing Vice President for South Asia Martin Raiser, without saying if its fresh funding. The European Union pledged the equivalent of $534 million for the reconstruction plan, President, European Commission, Ursula Von Der Leyen said in a message at the conference.
“I am asking for your support for those who have lost their life savings, their homes and livelihoods,” said Sharif at the start of the conference, co-hosted by Pakistan and the United Nations. “For those who are sitting under the blue sky facing the harshness of winter.”
United States Agency for International Development and Germany also announced about $100 million funding each.
The nation is also open to debt swaps and other financial instruments with friendly countries, which will help free up resources to spend on flood-related activities, said finance minister Ishaq Dar.
(Updates throughout with commitments)
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
©2023 Bloomberg L.P.