World Bank links USD600m financing to wheat, sugar trade reforms
ISLAMABAD: The World Bank has proposed linking a USD 600 million financing programme for Pakistan to a series of reforms, including removing wheat and sugar from the Import/Export Order, 2022, increasing private-sector participation in urea imports, and eliminating regulatory barriers to investment and trade.
Official documents revealed that the proposed Pakistan Bold Reforms for Investment-Driven Growth and Employment (BRIDGE) Programme seeks to address structural constraints that have kept private investment at around 10 percent of GDP, less than half the rate of regional peers, while foreign direct investment (FDI) stands at approximately 0.6 percent of GDP.
The Bank has proposed USD 600 million in financing for a five-year programme aimed at removing regulatory barriers, expanding access to finance, boosting exports and improving skills alignment to attract private investment and generate jobs in Pakistan.
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According to the World Bank’s project document, the programme has a total estimated cost of USD 1.193 billion, including a USD 600 million World Bank contribution and USD 593.38 million from the government. It comprises USD 1.173 billion results-based programme and a USD 20 million technical assistance component. The operation is proposed for approval in January, 2027.
The initiative comes as Pakistan seeks to shift from macroeconomic stabilisation towards sustained, private investment-led and export-oriented growth. The bank has identified a costly and complex regulatory environment, limited access to finance, high trade costs and a mismatch between workers’ skills and employers’ requirements as major impediments to investment and productivity.
The programme, to be coordinated by the Ministry of Finance, will focus on three areas: reducing regulatory, financial and trade barriers; improving competitiveness in high-potential export sectors; and strengthening labour market functioning and skills alignment.
Under the first area, the programme envisages operationalising the Pakistan Business Portal as a one-stop digital platform for business approvals and enacting a modernised Investment Act to strengthen investor protection and improve transparency. It also envisages introducing a unified corporate insolvency law, a dedicated factoring law and fully operationalising the Export-Import Bank of Pakistan with a banking licence and internationally compliant export credit and guarantee products.
Trade facilitation reforms will seek to reduce the time required to clear imports and exports, while expanding internationally recognised accreditation to improve the competitiveness of Pakistani businesses.
The second area targets agribusiness and therapeutic goods, including pharmaceuticals. The programme proposes a single national system for approving seed varieties, greater private-sector participation in urea imports and removal of wheat and sugar from the Import/Export Order 2022 as part of efforts to deregulate the two sectors and encourage private investment.
For pharmaceutical exporters, the programme will support efforts to help the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan achieve World Health Organisation Regulatory Maturity Level 3 status and membership of the Pharmaceutical Inspection Co-operation Scheme. These steps are intended to improve access to regulated international markets and multilateral procurement opportunities.
The third area seeks to bridge the gap between workers’ qualifications and market demand through a national Labour Market Information System linking relevant government databases, stronger vocational qualifications and digital migration services. It also envisages Global Skills Partnership agreements to create structured overseas employment pathways for workers with internationally recognised qualifications.
The bank’s document notes that more than three million Pakistanis enter the labour market annually, underscoring the need to translate investment into productive employment. Women are identified as a priority beneficiary group across the programme’s three areas.
The proposed operation is aligned with the government’s URAAN Pakistan economic transformation plan and supports the target of increasing private investment to 15 percent of GDP by 2035. Its performance will be assessed through indicators covering business registrations, access to financing, trade-clearance times, internationally recognised accreditation and vocational qualifications.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026