ISLAMABAD: Islamic Development Bank President Dr Bandar M H Hajjar during a video call with Minister for Economic Affairs, Makhdoom Khusro Bakhtiar assure bank’s support to Pakistan during the time of lockdown under the coronavirus pandemic.
The IsDB president thanked the Minister for Economic Affairs and assured bank’s full support for the people and government of Pakistan to mitigate the negative impacts of COVID-19, said a statement issued by Economic Affairs Division (EAD) here on Thursday.
The banks president informed the minister that the boards of IsDB group have approved the US $ 2.3 billion "Strategic Preparedness and Response Package" for the IsDB member countries to mitigate and recover from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the short, medium, and long-term. This will be achieved through a holistic approach aimed to accommodate priorities beyond the immediate and emergency response.
The IsDB president assured his full support to Pakistan and said that ITFC has been directed to immediately finalize US$ 500 million for import of oil & LNG; and an amount of US$ 150 million is being allocated to mitigate the pandemic impact.
The Minister for Economic Affairs appreciated President IsDB Group for his special priority for Pakistan. He also underlined the needs of the member countries and applauded bank’s response to mitigate the COVID-19 pandemic effects. The minister said that the IsDB has historic relations with the countries to achieve people centric development goals.
The technical teams from both sides have already outlined the initial assessment for COVID-19 related financing. Ministry of Economic Affairs will evaluate and prioritize the proposals received.
The final requirement of the country will be shared with IsDB to materialize financing by the IsDB.
The Minister for Economic Affairs and President IsDB expressed their strong commitment to further strengthen the relations as well as IsDB portfolio in Pakistan especially for the COVID-19 related emergency activities.