Financing was sent under ADB’s BRACE program to provide the fiscal space needed for the government to implement its countercyclical development spending package.
ISLAMABAD: The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has credited the State Bank of Pakistan with $500 million in co-financing under the Building Resilience with Active Countercyclical Expenditure (BRACE) program funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
“The AIIB has today, subject to the approval of their Board of Trustees, transferred USD 500 million as program funding to the State Bank of Pakistan/Government of Pakistan,” Finance Minister Ishaq Dar said in a tweet.
The AIIB board approved $500 million on November 9.
In October, the ADB approved $1.5 billion in financing to help Pakistan provide social protection, promote food security and boost employment for its people amid devastating floods and disruptions to global supply chains, the multilateral lender said on Friday.
A loan under ADB’s BRACE program will help finance the government’s $2.3 billion countercyclical development spending program to cushion the effects of external shocks, including Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The ADB financing will provide the government with the fiscal space needed to implement its countercyclical development spending package, designed to target Pakistan’s poorest families, who are often disproportionately affected in times of crisis.
Government support includes concrete measures to support gender empowerment and climate change adaptation, which have become even more critical in light of the recent floods.
ADBs will help increase the number of families receiving cash transfers from 7.9 million to 9 million, increase the number of children enrolled in primary and secondary schools, and improve the geographic coverage of health services and nutrition supplies for pregnant and lactating mothers and children under two years old.
