Washington January 14 2025: The World Bank (WB) has pledged to provide $40 billion to Pakistan under the 10-year Country Partnership Framework (CPF), according to sources in Ministry of Economic Affairs.
Out of the total $40 billion, $20 billion would be provided through International Development Association (IDA) and International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD).
The CPF will focus on six key development areas, including reducing child stunting, mitigating climate change, improving learning outcomes, providing clean water, and promoting public resources and private investment for comprehensive development.
The International Finance Corporation (IFC) will also provide funding of $20 billion to support the CPF.
Specific goals include increasing tax revenue to over 15% of GDP, adding 10 Gigawatts of renewable energy capacity, providing quality education to 12 million students, and delivering healthcare services to 50 million people.
The framework also aims to provide safe drinking water and sanitation facilities to 60 million people, strengthen food security for 30 million individuals, and increase access to family planning services for 30 million women.
Additionally, the CPF includes objectives to address flood and disaster risks, benefiting 75 million people, the sources added.
It is worth mentioning, 19 out of 24 directors voted in favor of Pakistan when approving the 10-year Country Partnership Framework.
The World Bank Group’s Boards of Executive Directors today discussed the new Country Partnership Framework (CPF) for Pakistan, which aims to support inclusive and sustainable development through a strong focus on building human capital; fostering durable private sector growth; and building economic, social and environmental resilience in the country.
“Our new decade-long partnership framework for Pakistan represents a long-term anchor for our joint commitment with the Government to address some of the most acute development challenges facing the country: child stunting, learning poverty, its exceptional exposure to the impacts of climate change, and the sustainability of its energy sector,” said Najy Benhassine, World Bank Country Director for Pakistan. “Support to policy and institutional reforms that boost private sector-led growth and create fiscal space to finance the investments needed to address these challenges will remain key in our engagements.”
The CPF will support six key country outcomes:
Increased productive and inclusive private investment, particularly to improve external trade balances and higher, more sustainable growth.
Reduced child stunting through increased access to clean water and sanitation services, basic health and nutrition and family planning services
Reduced learning poverty through quality foundational education
Increased resilience to floods and other climate-related disasters and better food and nutrition security in the face of climate impacts on the water-agriculture nexus
Cleaner and more sustainable energy and better air quality
Increased fiscal space and better management and more progressive public expenditures for development
These outcomes will be supported by cross-cutting interventions in social safety nets and financial inclusion to support and protect the most vulnerable populations, particularly women, as well as digital and transport connectivity.
Achieving these ambitious goals will require leveraging resources through enhanced private sector engagement and increased joint financing and coordination with other development partners.
“We are focused on prioritizing investment and advisory interventions that will help crowd-in much needed private investment in sectors critical for Pakistan’s sustainable growth and job creation, including energy and water, agriculture, access to finance, manufacturing and digital infrastructure,” said Zeeshan Sheikh, International Finance Corporation Country Manager for Pakistan and Afghanistan. “We are also collaborating with public and private partners to address key policy challenges that inhibit a more inclusive participation of the private sector in Pakistan’s economy.”
“Guarantee instruments under the World Bank Group’s Guarantee Platform will support private investment in areas consistent with the development outcomes under the CPF where the domestic and foreign private sector has a role to play,” said Şebnem Erol Madan, the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency Director of Economics and Sustainability.
A series of policy notes and other analytical work helped inform the CPF priorities, together with extensive consultations across the country with key stakeholders including the government, private sector, civil society, think tanks, academia, media, and development partners. The CPF has also been informed by the Government’s priorities, both at the Federal and Provincial levels, as well as lessons learned from the previous country engagements. It is also well aligned with key objectives of the recently launched National Economic Transformation Plan, Uraan Pakistan, and those of the Prime Minister’s Economic Transformation Agenda and Implementation Plan.
The World Bank Group in Pakistan
Since the World Bank Group started operating in Pakistan in 1950, IBRD has provided over $48.3 billion in assistance, IFC has invested approximately $13 billion to advance private sector-led solutions, and MIGA has provided $836 million in guarantees. The current portfolio for IBRD, IFC and MIGA in Pakistan includes 106 projects and a total commitment of $17 billion.
