ISLAMABAD: The country’s foreign exchange reserves are likely to cross $18 billion mark on Tuesday as the World Bank has given Pakistan $500 million for economic development and growth.
World Bank’s South Asia Region Vice President Annette Dixon has called Finance Minister Ishaq Dar to congratulate him on successful completion of talks on Development Policy Credit-II and convey that “$500m would be released within 24 hours”.
Dixon, in an official statement, lauded the reforms introduced by the government and its achievements despite a number of challenges and difficulties.
Pakistan has signed with the World Bank the Second Fiscally Sustainable and Inclusive Growth Development Policy Credit of $500m to support its efforts to reinvigorate growth and stabilise the economy.
Pakistan’s reserves stood at $17.449bn during the week ending on June 18 – around $12.3bn at the State Bank and the rest at private banks.
Last week, the bank had approved the $500m loan to support the privatisation and revenue generation programmes, but deferred an equivalent loan for energy sector reforms because of slow progress on that front.
