ISLAMABAD, Jan 11 (EW): Finance Minister Ishaq Dar on Wednesday said that nearly 90 per cent of the pledges made at the Geneva moot were “project loans”.The minister made the remark while addressing a press conference in Islamabad, alongside Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and other ministers of the federal cabinet, on the “success” of the international conference on Pakistan’s flood recovery held in Geneva, Switzerland, on Monday.
During the presser, Dar was asked by The Express Tribune about how much of the total sum was a grant or a loan, to which, he stated that almost 90% of the pledges were “project loans”.
He furthered that project loan financing had crossed $8bn, including commitments from the Asian Development Bank, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, and the World Bank.
The minister, however, did not incorporate the Saudi pledge of $1 bn because he was unsure if the amount pertained to programme lending or project loan.
‘Every penny’ to be spent transparently
At the outset of the presser, PM Shehbaz vowed that ‘every penny’ pledged by the international community for flood-relief work in Pakistan would transparently go to the victims.
He announced that the international community has pledged $9.7 billion to Pakistan for flood relief efforts.
Joined by leaders of his cabinet, the premier stated that the Geneva moot co-chaired by him and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was “incredibly successful” as a result of the prayers by the nation and the hard work of the coalition government.
He added that the incumbent regime would keep up their work until the flood-affected populace was repopulated into their homes.
Giving a breakdown of the donations, both bilateral and multilateral, the prime minister detailed that the biggest amount was given by the Islamic Development Bank with $4.2 billion. He maintained that the government was both surprised and happy with this pledge.
He continued that the Asian Infrastructure Development Bank pledged $1 billion, the World Bank pledged $2 billion, and the Asian Development Bank pledged $500 million.
Listing pledges by individual countries, he stated that Azerbaijan promised $2m, Canada $18.6m, China $100m, Denmark $3.8m, the European Union €87m, France €380m, Germany €84m, Italy €23m, the Netherlands $3.5m, Norway $6m, Qatar $25m, Sweden $7.5m, and Britain with 36 million pounds.
Moreover, the United States through USAID pledged $100m and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia pledged $1bn.
‘World trusts ruling coalition’
PM Shehbaz stated that if the international community had “doubts” about the use or misuse of the money, they would not have pledged these amounts as this is “their taxpayer money”.
He reiterated that this was a “big success” for Pakistan and congratulated the nation as well as the members of his Cabinet. He also thanked his ministers and leaders of the coalition government for their “outstanding contribution”.
Shehbaz said that the ball was in the government’s court, adding that the money would be spent transparently with “every penny” going towards the nation’s betterment, and added that “a third party audit will be conducted” to ensure transparency of the process.
He furthered that despite “man-made problems” within the country, all provincial governments, including that of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P), were present in Geneva.
He maintained that there was “no doubt” that Pakistan had a coalition government that the nation and the world “trusted”. Shehbaz furthered that the “unity” and “brotherhood” of Pakistan’s leaders were evident at the moot.
According to the premier, it was now the government’s turn to distribute this money, make homes, and bridges and “compensate those who have nothing left”. He emphasised that the work would be done cleanly by a team that has members of the youth and members with experience.
“It is now our turn to put in our blood and sweat in taking forward the mission for the rehabilitation of our people.”
PM Shehbaz also praised Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman for his plans to potentially increase the deposit amount in the State of Bank of Pakistan to $5bn.
The prime minister also thanked all bilateral and multilateral partners for their contributions.
Pakistan’s isolation a ‘myth’
Talking to media personnel, Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari maintained that the prime minister’s foreign policy was successful because it raised money for the flood victims and simultaneously dispelled the “myth” that Pakistan was isolated.
“There is no I in team,” the minister said, adding that the government had exceeded the required target of funds needed from the international community.
He highlighted that the government had vowed to provide half of the $16 bn needed to rehabilitate flood victims, and had hoped that the international community would commit to the other 50% needed.
“$16 billion is no joke when the world economy is suffering due to Covid and the Russian conflict,” he stated, adding that the whole world supported Pakistan during this crisis.
Echoing the premier’s statement, Bilawal said that it was now the incumbent government’s job to operationalise the pledges and bring them on the ground to help victims, as well as make resources promised by the Pakistan government available.
Bilawal stated that the success at the Geneva moot did not mean the problems that arose due to the floods were “over”. He added that the humanitarian crisis within the country continued, and urged the nation to provide humanitarian assistance in the form of “warm clothes, food and blankets”.
He lamented about the dismal situation of the flood victims due to the winter weather and that many people were living under the open sky without basic necessities.
“We are working to restore their economic and financial conditions better than that at pre-flood times,” he added.
