US disburses $2.6bn under KLB since inception

ASMA RAZAQ

ISLAMABAD: USA has disbursed $ 2.6 billion to Pakistan under Kerry Lugar Bill (KLB) since its inception in October 2009 while the total amount of money released to the country under Coalition Support Fund (CSF) is $ 8.8 billion since the year 2002.

Mark Stroh, US Embassy spokesperson told Business Recorder on Friday that the disbursements that are to be made under CSF are still under review and no final decision has been taken so far in this regard.

Pakistan has received $ 1.7 billion as foreign assistance from July 2011 to date (April) and the US has remained the largest grant provider by disbursing $ 111.2 million during the first ten months of the current fiscal year.

Out of this $ 111.2 million disbursed by USA $ 2.7 million has been released by Bureau for Population, Refugees and Migration (BPRM), $ 0.5 million by US government, $ 1.8 million from Office of US Foreign Disaster Assistance USA OFDA, $ 105.7 million from USAID, and $ 0.5 million have been released by United States Department for Agriculture.

Data available to Business Recorder shows that the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank remained the major loan providers to Pakistan by releasing $ 471 million and $ 282 million respectively.

The data reveals that out of $ 282 million released by the World Bank $47 million has been disbursed by International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), $ 227.5 million by International Development Association (IDA), and Multi Donor Trust Fund (MDTF) has released $ 7.6 million from July 2011 to date.

Australia has released $ 21.9 million through AusAID (Australian Agency for International Development), Belgium $ 6.8 million, Canada $ 5.8 million and Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) $ 12.2 million, China $ 0.4 million and Denmark has disbursed $ 1.4 million during the first ten months of the current fiscal year.

European Union has released $ 11.4 million while $ 1.6 million have been disbursed through European’s Commission Humanitarian Aid Office (Echo).

France has released $ 0.64 million, Germany has disbursed $ 21.7 million while $ 0.048 million have been released through Gesellschaft for International Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), Islamic Developemnt Bank (IDB) $ 35.4 million, International Private Donors $ 0.61 million, Ireland $ 3 million, Italy $ 1.5 million, Japan $ 5.2 million, and $ 0.85 million have been disbursed by Luxembourg.

Data reveals that New Zealand has released $ 0.3 million, Norway $ 2.4 million, Saudi Arabia $ 1.07 million, Spain $ 3.1 million and Sweden has disbursed $ 7.7 million from July2011 to April 2012.

Switzerland has released $ 0.4 million while Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) has disbursed 0.7 million dollars. UK has released 0.024 million while $ 22.1 million have been disbursed through UK Department for International Development (DFID).

UN has released $ 22.1 million from July 2011 to date (April).