Govt committed to place economy on path of sustainable growth: Ishaq Dar tells World Bank

Finance Minister Ishaq Dar said Saturday that the government was committed to setting the economy on the path of sustainable and inclusive growth, Aaj News reported.

In a meeting with World Bank Country Director Najy Benhassine in Islamabad, he shared the economic challenges being faced by Pakistan in the wake of the recent devastating floods.

“The government is cognizant of the issues and we are taking pragmatic steps to resolve bottlenecks in way of growth,” he told Benhassine.

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He also talked about the devastations caused by the record rainfall and subsequent floods in the country.

Dar also appreciated the World Bank for being a source of support for Pakistan and helping the country pursue the reform agenda and implement various development projects.

“Pakistan values the financial and technical support provided by the World Bank for the institutional reforms and economic development of the country,” the finance minister said.

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On the occasion, Benhassine extended felicitations to the finance minister on assuming charge of the office and briefed him on existing programs and future cooperation of the World Bank for Pakistan.

“We are allocating $2 billion from existing World Bank-financed projects for emergency operations in flood-affected areas,” he told Dar.

“Around $1.5 billion will be mobilised this year due to emergency situation.”

The finance minister assured Benhassine of meeting prior actions for the timely completion of the projects.

On Friday, the World Bank projected that Pakistan’s GDP growth will slow down from 6% in the fiscal year 2022 to around 2% in the fiscal year 2023, while inflation will rise to 23% from 12.2%.

The bank’s “October 2022 Pakistan Development Update: Inflation and the Poor” noted that preliminary estimates suggest that as a direct consequence of the floods, the national poverty rate for Pakistan can increase by 2.5 to 4 percentage points, pushing between 5.8 and 10 million people into poverty.

The macroeconomic outlook is predicated on the International Monetary Fund (IMF)-Extended Fund Facility (EFF) programme remaining on track, the bank added.