ISLAMABAD, July 22 (Xinhua) -- The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has approved a loan of 250 million U.S. dollars to help Pakistan strengthen its response to the social and economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a statement released by the AIIB on Wednesday.
Co-financed with the World Bank, the loan will help bolster Pakistan's Resilient Institutions for Sustainable Economy (RISE) program which aims to stimulate investment in human capital, expand social safety nets, improve the country's emergency health infrastructure and foster economic growth, said the AIIB statement.
The RISE program is part of a set of measures Pakistan has undertaken toward recovery from the impact of the pandemic.
"The health crisis is expected to have far ranging and long-term repercussions on growth, which may undermine the hard-fought progress the country has made in restoring macroeconomic stability," the statement said, adding that employment in the formal and informal sectors has already seen a downturn.
The latest loan brings the AIIB total support to Pakistan's COVID-19 response to 750 million U.S. dollars, the statement said.
Economic experts in Pakistan believe that the loan will help the government to deal with COVID-19-triggered economic difficulties and protect the most vulnerable segment of the society, including women.
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