Islamabad: In a major boost to the depleting forex reserves, Pakistan on Wednesday received $1.5 billion from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) under the Building Resilience with Active Countercyclical Expenditures (BRACE) Program.
Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Wednesday made the announcement through a tweet.
Asian Development Bank has released funds $1.5 billion to Pakistan under BRACE program for the credit of Govt of Pakistan’s account with State Bank of Pakistan.
AlhamdoLilah!— Ishaq Dar (@MIshaqDar50) October 26, 2022
As of October 14, the forex reserves of Pakistan amounted to $7.6 billion, enough only to cover 5-6 weeks of import. With the addition of the $1.5 from the ADB, the total reserves have now crossed $9.1 billion, although the statistics are not out yet.
Last week, the ADB had approved $1.5 billion in financing to help the Pakistan government provide social protection, promote food security, and support employment for its people amid devastating floods and global supply chain disruptions.
The ADB has, over the years, remained a very reliable partner of Pakistan and has extended support to Pakistan without any tough conditions.
Speaking at the agreement signing, the Finance Minister had assured that the government will steer the country out of all challenges. He had said that Rs70 billion had already been disbursed by the Prime Minister in cash support to the flood victims. He had apprised the ADB team that the estimated losses caused by the floods were around $32.4 billion.
