#Cooperation: Beijing-backed AIIB Provides $500 million for a Development in Pakistan

• State Bank of Pakistan/Government of Pakistan Receives $ 500 million as Program Financing from #AIIB

ISLAMABAD: The Beijing-backed lender, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank(AIIB), under the BRACE program, has provided $500 million as co-financing for a development programme in Pakistan, a country under severe economic crunch.

The BRACE (Building Resilience with Active Counteryclical Expenditures Programme) is an Asian Development Bank financing programme to counter the social fallouts of economic crisis.

Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has transferred today, as per their Board’s approval, to State Bank of Pakistan/Government of Pakistan US $ 500 million as program financing, the Federal Finance Minister Ishaq Dar stated in his tweet.

Also, minister had announced about the funds, which would help shore up the forex reserves held by the central bank.

“Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has transferred today, as per their Board’s approval, to State Bank of Pakistan/Government of Pakistan US $500 million as program financing,” tweeted the finance minister Ishaq Dar on Tuesday.

“These funds will be received by the State Bank of Pakistan within November 2022,” Dar had tweeted, as cash-strapped Pakistan desperately seeks financing to cushion the impact of floods.

The reserves are crucial for the country, amid the current situation, where it has to also import edibles after the cataclysmic floods severely devastated the crops and dealt damages estimated at over $30 billion.

In October, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) had also approved $1.5 billion in financing to help Pakistan provide social protection, promote food security and support employment for its people amid devastating floods and global supply chain disruptions.

The loan, provided under the ADB’s BRACE, will help fund the government’s $2.3 billion countercyclical development expenditure programme designed to cushion the impacts of external shocks, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

In 2020, AIIB ApprovedUSD250-million loan to assist Pakistan to mitigate impact of covid-19.

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is a multilateral development bank with a mission to improve social and economic outcomes in Asia. Headquartered in Beijing, we began operations in January 2016 and have now grown to 102 approved members worldwide. By investing in sustainable infrastructure and other productive sectors in Asia and beyond, we will better connect people, services and markets that over time will impact the lives of billions and build a better future.