ADB endorses 5-year partnership strategy for Pakistan

KARACHI, Pakistan

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has endorsed a five-year "country partnership strategy" for Pakistan to help restore the country's struggling economy.

The strategy, according the bank's Director General for Central and West Asia Eugene Zhukov, plans to help restore economic stability and growth in order to create jobs and expand economic opportunities in Pakistan, which is struggling to overcome the coronavirus pandemic.

The pandemic has interrupted the macroeconomic recovery in Pakistan, resulting in a sharp contraction in growth, a rise in public expenditures, and a loosening of monetary policy to mitigate the health and economic impacts.

The five-year (2021-2025) plan is aligned with Pakistan’s development vision, ADB’s Strategy 2030, and the Sustainable Development Goals.

"The ADB’s assistance over the next five years prioritizes support for three interlinked pillars: improving economic management, building resilience through human capital development and social protection, and boosting competitiveness and private sector development," Zhukov said in a statement on Wednesday.

The bank, he further said, will continue to help improve the energy sector through reforms and sovereign and nonsovereign investments.

Under the partnership strategy, he added, the bank will expand investments and help accelerate reforms in secondary education and technical and vocational education and training.

To boost competitiveness and private sector development, the ADB will also focus on building livable cities, promoting renewable energy and energy efficiency, and investing in rural infrastructure.

“The government has expressed its strong commitment to the ongoing International Monetary Fund Extended Fund Facility program,” said Xiaohong Yang, the bank's country director for Pakistan.

“The CPS [country partnership strategy] places a strong focus on combining reforms with physical and social investments to improve sustainability and generate lasting development impact," he added.

In September last, the bank approved a $300-million loan to help strengthen Pakistan's ailing finance sector.

In June 2020, the World Bank and ADB each lent $500 million to Pakistan to prop up its tottering economy that has taken a hit from global coronavirus restrictions.

Established in 1966, the Manila-based regional development is owned by 68 members -- 49 from the region.