ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has received $ 10.33 billion out of $ 10.953 billion as loans and $ 550.4 million in grants for flood relief from various countries, as well as, from private donors and international financial institutions as they pledged at the Geneva donors conference held in January 2023.
Minister for Economic Affairs Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, Monday, told the National Assembly in a written reply to a question. He said that the international lenders and governments have announced a total commitment/ pledges of US$ 10.953 billion amid recovery for Pakistan during the donor conference in Geneva on 9th January 2023, out of which, confirmation of US$ 73.1 million is still awaited.
The minister said that Pakistan has received a total of $ 8,943.94 million out of $ 8,962.72 million and $ 18.78 million grant including the entire amount $ 2,199.94 million as loan from the World Bank, $ 1,544 million out of $1,557.28 million as loan and $13.28 million grant from the Asian Development Bank, entire amount of $ 1,000 million from Asian Infrastructure Investment, entire amount of $ 4,200 million from Islamic Development Bank, and the entire amount of $ 5.5 million as grant from United Nations.
Donors pledge more than $9bn to help flood recovery
He said that the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) coalition government received $ 1,386.1 million out of $ 1,917.7 million and $ 531.64 million as grant from various countries.
According to a written reply to a question, Ayaz Sadiq said the government has received $ 6.6 million grant from Australia, $ 360 million out of $370 million as loan and $ 10 million grant from France, $ 94.35 million as a grant from European Union, $ 100 million grant from the USA, $ 11.67 million grant from the United Kingdom, $ 3.79 million grant from Denmark, $ 21.7 million loan out of $24.9 million and $ 3.2 million grant from Italy, $ 91.1 million grant from Germany, $ 1,000 million loan from Saudi Arabia, $ 4.4 million loan out of $ 77 million and $ 72.6 million as a grant from Japan, $ 18.12 million grant from Norway, $ 18.2 million as a grant from Canada, and $ 2 million as a grant from Azerbaijan.
However, the amounts of pledges of loans, $ 48 million from South Korea, $ 25 million from Qatar, and $ 0.1 million from Vietnam, are still awaited.
In another reply, Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Ishaq Dar told the House that recently, on 12th July 2023, the government entered into a nine-month Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) of $ 3 billion, of which, $ 1.2billion has already been disbursed.
In another written reply, Minister for Commerce Syed Naveed Qamar told the Lower House of the Parliament that the total import of active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) from July 2022 to April 2023 is $1.225 billion.
He said that API is the major component of the raw material imported by the pharmaceutical industry.
The Federal Minster for Finance and Revenue told the house in another reply that the interest rate has been increased from 15 per cent to 21 per cent from July to April of the financial year 2023.
He said that the future course of monetary policy/ interest rates depends on the prevailing economic conditions and their outlook, especially the inflation outlook vis-à-vis its target and evolving trends in other macroeconomic variables having implications for inflation and its expectations.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023