Pakistan thanks Saudi Arabia for ‘generous’ $1 billion pledge at Geneva conference

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif thanked Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Wednesday for the Kingdom’s "generous announcement of $1 billion" for Pakistan's flood victims during the Geneva conference.

Devastating floods claimed more than 1,700 lives and affected over 33 million people in Pakistan last year. According to the country’s post-disaster needs assessment (PDNA), carried out in collaboration with development partners, economic losses from the floods exceeded $30 billion — 8 percent of Pakistan’s GDP — and pushed 9 million people of the country into abject poverty.

PM Sharif and United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday co-chaired a day-long international conference on ‘Climate Resilient Pakistan’ in Geneva, Switzerland. The conference was attended by officials and representatives from around 40 countries, international financial institutions, foundations, and funds, both in person and virtually, as Islamabad sought the world’s assistance in speeding up its reconstruction and rehabilitation efforts.

Taking to Twitter, Sharif thanked Saudi Arabia's crown prince for his decision to consider increasing Saudi investment in Pakistan up to $10 billion. The directives from the crown prince came at a time when the South Asian country faces economic turmoil. Pakistan's foreign reserves have plunged to an eight-year low of $5.6 billion, as its currency depreciates and citizens remain burdened with soaring inflation.

“Pakistan sincerely thanks HRH Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman for Saudi Arabia's generous announcement of $1 billion @Resilient Pakistan,” PM Sharif wrote in a Twitter post.

“We are immensely grateful for his decision to consider increasing Saudi investment up to $10 billion & deposits with SBP to $5 billion.”

In separate Twitter posts, the premier also thanked The World Bank and the Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, for co-hosting the conference.

At the conference, the international community pledged a total of $8.57 billion to support Pakistan’s flood recovery, which PM Sharif described as a “resounding success”.

Of the total funds raised at the conference, the Islamic Development Bank Group pledged $4.2 billion, the World Bank announced $2 billion, Saudi Arabia pledged $1 billion, the EU $93 million, Germany $88 million, China $100 million, Japan $77 million, Asian Development Bank $1.5 billion, USAID $100 million, and France $345 million.