Islamabad, Nov 28: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) announced that it has approved a $300 million policy-based loan targeting macroeconomic stability in Pakistan by improving trade.

The loan aims at recovering Pakistan's current account deficit in a sustained manner and continue to facilitate export diversification, Xinhua news agency quoted the ADB as sayin in a statement.

The ADB added that it will introduce tariff and tax-related policy reforms to improve Pakistan's international competitiveness and further strengthen key institutions. Asian Development Bank Approves $1.5 Billion Loan to India to Fight Coronavirus Pandemic.

The new financing falls under subprogram-2 of the Trade and Competitiveness program.

Under the first phase, the ADB helped the government usher in key reforms, including reducing or abolishing tariffs and ad hoc duties on a large number of raw materials and intermediate goods, according to the statement.

ADB's Principal Public Management Specialist Hiranya Mukhopadhyay said that while the Covid-19 pandemic hit Pakistan at a critical point in its macroeconomic recovery, the government's ongoing efforts to ensure stability have started showing encouraging results this fiscal year.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 28, 2020 11:04 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).