ISLAMABAD: The European Union has sanctioned a $160 million loan for Pakistan, which will be extended by means of the European Investment Bank (EIB).
This is a large-scale investment that the EIB has made in the country over the past decade. Out of the entire amount, $100 million will go towards helping the flood victims of Sindh, as well as building/rebuilding 2.1 million homes to prevent damage from any natural calamity.
The rest of the $60 million will be used to improve the quality of water supply infrastructures in Karachi.
The EIB is making this huge investment in Pakistan after a gap of ten years with the intention to make it resilient against natural disasters and develop its infrastructure as far as urban utilities are concerned.
On the previous day, the European Union, together with the government of Pakistan, held the first-ever High-Level EU-Pakistan Business Forum in Islamabad.
The Forum is attended by about 1000 senior policy-makers, business representatives from Europe and Pakistan, financial organizations, and investors.
The EU is the largest market in the world, the largest outflow of foreign direct investments, and the largest export destination for Pakistan, so this Forum becomes an important platform to advance the economic relationship between the EU and Pakistan. Its goal is to translate the already existing successful economic relationship into investment, technology, innovation, and industry.
