Pakistan confirmed on Wednesday that the World Bank has pledged to lend $20 billion over the next decade, commencing in 2026 under its Country Partnership Framework, to help address the impoverished country’s acute development challenges.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif applauded what he described as the lender’s “first-ever” pledge of its kind, saying the program is intended to develop child nutrition, education, clean energy and climate resilience to boost private sector growth.
The Country Partnership Framework “reflects the World Bank’s confidence in Pakistan’s economic resilience and potential,” Sharif said on the social media platform X. “We look forward to strengthening our partnership as we align our efforts for creating lasting opportunities for our people.”
The cash-strapped South Asian nation has been struggling to tackle serious economic challenges for several years and is currently relying on a $7 billion bailout loan program from the International Monetary Fund. Persistent political instability in Pakistan, rising militant attacks, and devastating flooding in 2022 have further strained the troubled economy.
“Our new decadelong partnership framework for Pakistan represents a long-term anchor for our joint commitment with the government to address some of the most acute development challenges facing the country,” said World Bank Country Director Najy Benhassine.
The U.S.-based lender stated that the country’s annual commitments under the partnership “are expected to remain in the $1.5 billion to $2 billion range” from 2026 onward. It added that the loans will depend on available funding and the fulfillment of project requirements.
“The pace of economic growth and structural transformation has been long stunted by distortive policies that benefit only a few, who have historically coalesced to oppose growth-oriented reforms as well as increases in progressive public spending in human capital and basic services for the poorest,” the World Bank partnership documented stated.
It added that Pakistan must change its current development model to reduce poverty and achieve shared prosperity on a livable planet.
“We are focused on prioritizing investment and advisory interventions that will help crowd in much-needed private investment in sectors critical for Pakistan’s sustainable growth and job creation,” said Zeeshan Sheikh, International Finance Corporation country manager for Pakistan and Afghanistan.
The ouster of Prime Minister Imran Khan from power in 2022 and his subsequent imprisonment over contested corruption charges have plunged Pakistan into a political crisis that experts say is hampering government attempts to attract domestic and foreign investments.
The World Bank’s document highlights that the South Asian nation, home to over 240 million people, ranks among the top 10 countries most affected by climate change and natural disasters worldwide.
It noted that climate change will increasingly strain livelihoods, food security, productivity, and growth caused by rising extreme heat, air pollution, and altered water availability and precipitation.
“These risks can significantly compromise development in an already fiscally constrained environment and make sustained progress in poverty reduction and human development even more challenging than it is today,” the World Bank stated.
