NEW DELHI, Jan 10 (NNN-Bernama) — The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) has committed US$4.2 billion to help Pakistan in its post-flood recovery efforts.
The pledge came at the International Conference on Climate Resilient Pakistan in Geneva on Monday.
The Jeddah-based IDB Group said it will provide US$4.2 billion in financing over the next three years to support Pakistan in enhancing its climate resilience.
“We are committed to developing green, resilient, and sustainable infrastructure and promoting inclusive and sustainable progress,” it said.
The conference, co-hosted by the Pakistan government and the United Nations (UN), noted that Pakistan requires US$16 billion to deal with the aftermath of last summer’s devastating floods that affected 33 million people and claimed at least 1,730 human lives.
Pakistan was seeking half of the amount from international donors.
The commitments it received from multilateral agencies and various countries totalled more than US$9 billion.
The World Bank has pledged US$2 billion, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank has offered US$1 billion and Saudi Arabia will provide US$1 billion, Pakistan’s Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb said.
Commitments totalling hundreds of millions of dollars have been made by the European Union, France, Germany, China, Japan and the United States.
Last year’s unprecedented floods destroyed 2.2 million homes, 4.4 million acres of crops, 8,000 kilometres of roads and around 440 bridges, according to the UN.
The cost of helping those affected by the disaster “will run in excess of US$16 billion, and far more will be needed in the longer term”, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Monday.
— NNN-BERNAMA