Pakistan has received commitments for more than $10 billion 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 floods.
(Bloomberg) — Pakistan has received commitments for more than $10 billion 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 floods.
That exceeded the $8 billion over three years that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had sought.
The nation received a “generous outpouring” in financing led by the Islamic Development Bank, which pledged $4.2 billion, according to Pakistan’s information minister Marriyum Aurangzeb.
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 previously said the global community hadn’t provided enough fundings after the floods.
Saudi Arabia and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank pledged $1 billion each, according to the minister. The European Union pledged the equivalent of $534 million for the reconstruction plan, European Commission President Ursula Von Der Leyen said in a message at the conference on Monday.
“I am asking for your support for those who have lost their life savings, their homes and livelihoods,” Sharif said at the start of the conference that was co-hosted by Pakistan and the United Nations. “For those who are sitting under the blue sky facing the harshness of winter.”
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 it’s fresh funding. France pledged $345 million, while the US Agency for International Development and Germany each announced about $100 million funding.
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 with fresh commitments from first paragraph)
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