ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Ishaq Dar said Asian Development Bank (ADB) has disbursed $1.5 billion to Pakistan and transferred the money into the central bank’s account today.
With this disbursement, the foreign exchange reserves of the State Bank will surge to $9.1 billion, from existing $7.6 billion.
ADB assistance, he said, will boost social protection, promote food security, and create jobs in the wake of super floods as well as global supply chain disruptions.
“Asian Development Bank has released funds $1.5 billion to Pakistan under BRACE program for the credit of Govt of Pakistan’s account with State Bank of Pakistan. AlhamdoLilah!” Dar said in a Twitter post.
After disbursement of $1.1 billion by the IMF in August, it is the second major loan disbursement by the Asian Development Bank.
The ADB loan issued under ADB’s Building Resilience with Active Countercyclical Expenditures (BRACE) Program, will finance the government’s $2.3 billion countercyclical development expenditure program. The programme has been designed to cushion the impacts of external shocks, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
“Pakistan’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic has been impeded by external shocks,” said ADB Director General for Central and West Asia Yevgeniy Zhukov in a statement issued on Wednesday. “Increasing business costs and rising living expenses are affecting millions of Pakistanis, especially the poor and vulnerable. He said that the ADB’s program will help the Pakistan government manage the impacts of high prices, increasing food insecurity, slowing business activity, and reducing income for vulnerable groups, many of whom are also reeling from the devastating floods.”
