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ADB to help Pakistan build climate–resilient infrastructure

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INCHEON: In a major development, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) expressed commitment to help build the much-needed climate-resilient infrastructure for Pakistan — which faced over $30 billion in losses after the devastating floods caused by heavy rains last year.

It will be a great assistance by one of the world’s top financial institutions to the cash-strapped nation that is still struggling to strengthen its economy which suffered a serious blow caused by economic slowdown during the deadly Coronavirus, worldwide shortage of petroleum products and food inflation after the Russia-Ukraine war, and devaluation of Pakistani currency against the dollar.

With an objective of improved preparedness, the bank would help Pakistan in “strengthening infrastructure in such a way that if similar floods take place in future that infrastructure is strong enough to stand there,” Director General of Central and West Asia Department Yevgeniy Zhukov said while talking to APP on the sidelines of ADB’s 56th annual Board of Governors meeting that concluded last week in South Korean city – Incheon.

He said a lot of work was being done in the flood-emergency-related assistance adding that the focus would not only be on repairing the damages caused by last year’s floods but also on making the structures flood-resilient.

Seconding Zhukov’s damage-mitigation strategy, Country Director Pakistan Resident Mission Yong Ye told the news agency that some temporary structures would be in place hopefully this year before the possible flood in summer. He said there would be some protections “before the flood comes and the infrastructure is made climate-resilient.”

He said some of the existing infrastructure was damaged during last year’s floods; however, these had been restored with the ADB’s prompt support.

Seeing the wide-scale destruction and the loss of billions of dollars to the Pakistani economy, foreign experts and donor agencies described it as one of the top countries facing severe impacts of climate change.

In future, Yong said the bank looked at a much more comprehensive approach and was carrying out an upstream assessment of each factor of climate resilience/disaster resilience and analytical work to devise a strategy and an open institutional set-up for ‘quickening the measures.’

Yong said the ADB had also established its national disaster risk management funds under which it would provide the community flood protection structure.

As Asia and the Pacific’s climate bank, the ADB aims to deliver $100 billion in climate financing from 2019 to 2030.

Last week during the annual moot, the ADB launched the Innovative Finance Facility for Climate in Asia and the Pacific (IF-CAP), which would use guarantees from partners as leverage to accelerate billions of dollars in the much-needed climate investment. The facility would be effective from early 2024.

The finance facility would also be applicable to Pakistan not only for designing new projects but also preparing a strategy to effectively counter the negative impacts of climate change. This facility could be used to channelize the funding.

This year, the ADB conference was held at a time when Pakistan recently witnessed massive floods caused by torrential rains, inflicting losses of over $30 billion to the national economy that created issues of food security, damaged infrastructure, washed away livestock and collapsed houses.

Weather experts have forecast another spell of heavy downpours in parts of the country this season, which could lead to further devastation of the already calamity-hit nation.

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Finance Minister: A “big” IMF program is coming for Pakistan.

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Speaking at the Karachi Stock Exchange ceremony, the Finance Minister announced that meetings with IMF representatives would take place in Washington on April 14 and 15.

He applauded the caretaker government’s effort to bring about economic stability and predicted that the nation’s economy would stabilize with improved economic policies.

Muhammad Aurangzeb emphasized that in order to move the country’s economy toward stabilization, structural reforms must be implemented.

He restated that the nation’s recovery from the economic crisis depends heavily on the stock market. The stock market is, nevertheless, trending upward.

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Pakistan is still classified as a secondary emerging market by the FTSE.

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The nation could perhaps be demoted, according to the worldwide index provider, since its index weight has decreased over the previous few years.

Pakistan’s market capitalization peaked in 2017 at $100 billion, but it fell to $21 billion by 2024, according to a Bloomberg research.

It did, however, state that Pakistan’s standing as a secondary emerging market will remain unchanged due to favorable political changes brought about by the establishment of a stable government.

Bloomberg saw Shehbaz Sharif’s election as prime minister, who is open to reform, as a step in the right direction for the nation struggling financially.

Shehbaz Sharif, the president of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, was chosen on March 4 to serve as the country’s 24th prime minister.

With 201 votes, PM Shehbaz defeated Omar Ayub Khan of the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) by 92 votes.

over the economy, earlier this month, Pakistan and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) came to an agreement at the staff level over the second and last review conducted under Pakistan’s Stand-By Arrangement.

The IMF secured a staff-level agreement with Pakistan on the second and final review of the nation’s stabilization program, which is backed by the IMF’s US$3 billion (SDR2,250 million) SBA authorized, according to the official statement released by an IMF team led by Nathan Porter.

The remaining US$1.1 billion (SDR 828 million) of SBA access will be made available following the IMF Executive Board’s approval of the deal.

It was reported shortly after the February 8 election that the newly elected PML-N-led government intended to apply for a new IMF credit package.

Pakistan is anticipated to pursue a $6–8 billion loan program from the global lender, and the IMF will be contacted right once to begin negotiations for this. The sources went on to say that the IMF would have tighter requirements this time.

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PM Shehbaz Sharif: “A plan to digitize the tax system is underway.”

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In an address to the All Pakistan Newspapers Society delegation in Islamabad today, the prime minister announced that plans were in motion to update the tax collection system.

The prime minister added that efforts are underway to broaden the revenue base and that the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) is fully digitizing.

He emphasized that the Tax Excellence Awards were a recent initiative by the government to support female entrepreneurs, exporters, and engaged taxpayers.

The government’s priorities, according to the prime minister, are institutional changes, austerity, domestic and external investment, and privatization of government-owned businesses.

Praiseing the media’s contribution to public awareness-raising and good governance, he called on the sector to successfully communicate the benefits of economic stability under SIFC.

Calling fake news a major problem, he emphasized the need for cooperation to combat it. Additionally, he extended an invitation to the press to back Pakistan’s administration in its endeavors for the country’s growth and well-being.

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