ADB hasn’t agreed to provide Pakistan $3.4b budgetary support

Pedestrians walk past a logo of the Asian Development Bank displayed outside its headquarters in Manila, Philippines, on Sept 2, 2010. (AFP) The Asian Development Bank is still in talks with Pakistani officials and a $3.4 billion budgetary support to the country has yet to be finalised, Reuters reported Monday. In a statement released on Sunday, the ADB said that it is "pleased with the progress of discussions" with Pakistan's government but the talks have not concluded. “These discussions are ongoing and details of the plans as well as the volume of ADB’s financial support, once finalised, will be contingent upon the approval of ADB management and its Board of Directors,” said Xiaohong Yang, according to a tweet by ADB Pakistan.

"These discussions are ongoing and details of the plans as well as the volume of ADB's financial support, once finalized, will be contingent upon the approval of ADB management and its Board of Directors.” - Xiaohong Yang, #ADB Country Director for #Pakistan

— ADBPakistan (@PakistanADB) June 16, 2019

The statement comes a few days after Khusro Bakhtyar, the minister for planning and development, had claimed that Pakistan entered into an agreement with the ADB for budgetary support. The first installment of the funds $2.1 billion will be released in the first quarter of this fiscal year, Radio Pakistan reported Bakhtyar as saying. The government has been able to secure a series of aid packages from friendly countries, such as China, UAE, and Saudi Arabia in recent months. This is in addition to the $6 billion bailout package from the IMF which is currently awaiting approval from the IMF board in Washington. Follow SAMAA English on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.