WASHINGTON
Finance Minister Ishaq Dar on Wednesday said the World Bank would extend around $10.2 billion for developmental projects in next five years.
Dar was speaking at the US Institute of Peace at the start of his visit to Washington, during which he is scheduled to hold economic dialogue with the United Sates officials and participate in IMF-World Bank annual spring meetings.
The finance minister said that all this has been possible due to critical economic reforms the government introduced at the cost of political popularity within the first few months of its inception.
“Pakistan could now access $1.7 billion in World Bank’s International Development Association for development projects,” he added.
He said the government’s commitment to make best use of the country’s economic potential and growing international confidence in Pakistan’s policies would help sustain growth momentum in the years ahead.
The finance minister was confident that the country would chalk up a four percent GDP growth this year and said Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif-led government plans to raise the economic growth to six percent of GDP in the coming years.
Citing the international market’s amazing interest in Pakistan’s plan on issuing Eurobonds, he said the demonstration of massive response to Pakistani sovereign paper is unprecedented.
“The multilateral donors and international markets have reposed tremendous confidence in Pakistan’s economic future,” he said during a discussion moderated by USIP’s South Asia Program Moeed Yousaf.
Apprising the think tank audience of the remarkable macroeconomic recovery, Dar said in a matter of eight months Pakistan has seen a 17 percent jump in revenues, 11 percent growth in remittances, 6.2 percent expansion in exports and rise in GDP growth to four percent. At the same time, the government has also maintained the fiscal deficit below target.
Combined with foreign investment inflows, future privatization, rise in exports and consistent policies, job creation through development work and upsurge in economic activity in services, industrial and agricultural sectors, Pakistan would be able to move forward on a robust growth track, he said.
The minister underscored Pakistan’s vast economic potential, arguing that the rapid improvement in the last eight months proves that despite inherited problems and law and order situation in some parts of the country, Pakistan, currently ranked 44th, would become the 18th largest world economy sooner than projected.
On the rupee value appreciation, he said, it has helped country save $7 billion and said the government has already started passing benefits of the positive development to the people by reducing fuel prices. The rise in the value of rupee would help further pull down inflation, which currently is around 8.5 percent.
He rejected the assumption that a recent $1.5 billion in assistance given to Pakistan by a friend country was solely responsible for rupee’s surge, saying, it “might have contributed a little but it cannot be a total wholesome reason”. International confidence has been building steadily due to many reforms and steps taken by the government.
