As the Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Senator Ishaq Dar cancelled to attend the spring meeting, upon directions of the Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, of the World Bank (WB) Group and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Pakistan will be represented at the discussions by the secretaries of finance and economic affairs, as well as the governor of the State Bank.
The World Bank Group and the IMF will discuss “uncertainties and risks weighing heavily” on the global economy at their spring meetings in 2023, which will start on Monday in the capital of the US.
The impacts of climate change, which endangers lives and means of subsistence all across the world, will also be a major topic of discussion during the IMF and World Bank headquarters meetings taking place from April 10 to 16.
The poor and most vulnerable people were hit by “stubborn inflation, the cost-of-living crisis, and slower growth effects,” according to an official statement outlining the topics that would be covered at these talks.
The statement continued, “Record-high debt is holding back developing nations, and the consequences of climate change are posing a threat to lives and livelihoods all around the world. The World Bank and the IMF were encouraged by experts to adopt a comprehensive strategy for resolving the problems that the developing world is currently facing.
On the website of the UN Foundation, a photo displayed the extent of the destruction caused by the floods in Pakistan last year, which prompted international financial institutions to create a new mechanism to “assist communities at the receiving end of (climate change) catastrophes.”
The caption for the photo noted that “many lives were lost and millions lost their homes, with one-third of the country submerged.”
Pakistan “urgently needs significant investments in climate resilience to secure its economy and reduce poverty,” according to a World Bank assessment published shortly after the floods.
