To boost foreign exchange reserves held by the central bank, Pakistan on Thursday received $500 million from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) under the Climate Change and Disaster Resilience Enhancement Program (CDREP).
These gains will be reflected in the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) foreign exchange reserves data for the week ending November 29, 2024 — to be released on December 5, 2024 — and the country’s import cover. will help to increase and stabilize the currency.
Meanwhile, foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) increased by $131 million on a weekly basis, reaching $11.42 billion as of November 22.
The country’s total liquid foreign reserves were $16.08 billion, net foreign reserves with commercial banks were $4.66 billion.
Earlier this month, Pakistan and the ADB signed a $500 million loan agreement to build the country’s resilience against the effects of natural hazards and climate crises.
The objective of this program is to develop Pakistan’s institutional capacity for planning, preparedness and response. This will help promote inclusive investments in disaster risk reduction and climate resilience while enhancing disaster risk financing through a risk-based approach.
It enhances coordination for disaster monitoring and response. It supports better planning and prioritization of gender-sensitive and resilient public investments, including integrated flood risk management and nature-based solutions.
Pakistan is one of the most vulnerable countries in Asia and the Pacific to climate change and natural disasters. ADB said the average loss from natural disasters is more than $2 billion per year, adding that women and other vulnerable groups are disproportionately affected by climate change and disasters.
In addition to funding for CDERP, the Bank also approved a technical assistance grant of $1 million to help implement the program.
Pakistan also launched its first National Climate Finance Strategy (NCFS) in November with a strategy to mobilize funds for climate mitigation and adaptation efforts to address the growing challenges of global warming. The strategy focuses on increasing climate-related investment, attracting international financing and strengthening the domestic financial system.
Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb and Prime Minister’s Coordinator for Climate Change Rumina Khurshid Alam jointly launched the NCFS at the Pakistan Pavilion in Baku on November 15 on the sidelines of the two-week UN-led World Climate Conference (COP29). .
In her keynote address, Environment Assistant to the Prime Minister, Rumina Khurshid Alam said, “It is a proud moment for us to launch Pakistan’s first Climate Finance Strategy, our commitment to a sustainable and climate-resilient future. It’s an important step in commitment.” At the launch event.
Explaining the strategy, he said that the climate finance strategy outlines a path to bridging the critical climate finance gap facing Pakistan – for our climate resilience and low carbon development goals. The gap is $348 billion by 2030.