$20bn funding: World Bank’s Country Partnership Framework for Pakistan launched

The World Bank’s (WB) $20 billion Country Partnership Framework (CPF) for Pakistan was launched in Islamabad on Thursday in presence of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and the WB’s Vice President for South Asia Martin Raiser.

The World Bank’s Board of Directors approved the first-ever 10-year CPF for Pakistan last week, marking the largest commitment in the nation’s history. The extended framework focuses on six key development areas, supported by a monitoring and evaluation scorecard to track progress.

According to the World Bank, the programme for FY26-35 aims to support inclusive and sustainable development through a strong focus on building human capital; fostering durable private sector growth; and building economic, social and environmental resilience in the country.

“What is being done today should have been done decades ago,” PM Shehbaz remarked while speaking to the launch ceremony on Thursday, according to a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office.

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The prime minister said the World Bank’s programme would help transform Pakistan’s economy through building climate resilient projects, alleviating poverty and unemployment, while promoting digitisation, agriculture, and IT led initiatives.

He highlighted the Bank’s support in areas such as hydropower, energy, and institutional reforms.

PM Shehbaz noted that the digitisation of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) is “rapidly on track”.

According to the World Bank, the CPF will support six following key country outcomes:

• Reduced child stunting through increased access to clean water and sanitation services, basic health and nutrition and family planning services
• Reduced learning poverty through quality foundational education
• Increased resilience to floods and other climate-related disasters and better food and nutrition security in the face of climate impacts on the water-agriculture nexus
• Cleaner and more sustainable energy and better air quality
• Increased fiscal space and better management and more progressive public expenditures for development
• Increased productive and inclusive private investment, particularly to improve external trade balances and higher, more sustainable growth.

In a post on X, Martin Raiser said he discussed “Pakistan’s key reform areas and how the new CPF will complement and support Pakistan’s efforts, ensuring alignment with national priorities to address the country’s most pressing challenges”.

“Among key priorities, we discussed specifically digital transformation and agricultural reforms to boost productivity. The CPF will bring fresh impetus and support sustainable development in these and other areas,” he said.

Pakistan seeks enhanced allocation of concessional resources under IDA-21

In the wake of CPF launching, a meeting was also held between Ahad Cheema, Minister for Economic Affairs of Pakistan, and Martin Raiser, the World Bank Vice President for South Asia.

They discussed the framework’s next steps, its implementation, and the critical role of collaboration in achieving Pakistan’s long-term development objectives, according to a statement from the Ministry of Economic Affairs.

During the meeting, Cheema called on the World Bank to “enhance Pakistan’s allocation of concessional resources under the IDA-21 framework, especially in support of climate change mitigation and foreign debt management”.

IDA-21 is the 21st replenishment of the International Development Association (IDA), a part of the World Bank that provides grants and low-interest loans to low-income countries. The IDA-21 process began in December 2023 and concluded in December 2024.