World Bank Will Provide $150 Million to Pakistan to Buy COVID-19 Vaccines

The federal Minister for Finance and Revenue, Shaukat Tarin, held a meeting with the World Bank’s (WB) South Asia Regional Vice President, Hartwig Schafer, and the WB Country Director, Najy Benhassine, at the Finance Division. He acknowledged Pakistan’s efforts for the effective management of the COVID-19 crisis and said that the WB is fully committed to providing assistance to the developing countries for the procurement of the COVID-19 vaccines. He added that $150 million has been reallocated for Pakistan by the WB for this purpose. The Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Finance and Revenue was also in attendance alongside senior officials of the Ministry of Finance and the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR). ALSO READ Federal Cabinet to Reduce Kamyab Pakistan Program Loan Guarantee to 50%: Report Furthermore, he praised the pivotal role of the WB in strengthening governance and service delivery in Pakistan through institutional reforms that are being undertaken with the support of development partners. The Vice President also praised Pakistan’s commitment to a cleaner and greener environment, and said that the reform momentum has to be sustained in the country. The meeting included a review of the progress on WB’s two ongoing programs — ‘Resilient Institutions for Sustainable Economy (RISE-II)’ and ‘Program for Affordable and Clean Energy (PACE)’ that hold central positions in the government’s social and economic reform paradigm. It was observed that the programs are progressing satisfactorily. ALSO READ Pakistan’s Rice Exports Cross $2 Billion Minister Tarin apprised the WB team that Pakistan would welcome its knowledge to promote the skills of the IT graduates in the country. The team conveyed its willingness to provide guidance and said that the bank is preparing an operation on digital economy with the Ministry of Information Technology. In his concluding remarks, Minister Tarin thanked the delegation for the WB’s continued guidance and collaboration on various development projects.