Islamabad, Jan 21 (.) Pakistan has secured a series of high-value investment and financing deals with China and multilateral lenders, offering a boost to its farm sector and infrastructure ambitions even as international institutions warn of slower overall economic growth.
Islamabad and Beijing have signed 79 investment agreements worth about USD 4.5 billion, focused almost entirely on agriculture and food-related industries.
The MOU spans 10 areas, including food processing, farm mechanisation and technology, seed development, livestock and dairy, meat and poultry, fisheries, fruits and vegetables, animal feed, post-harvest storage and agricultural inputs.
Government officials said the agreements represent one of the largest foreign investment commitments ever made to Pakistan’s agriculture sector.
The projects are expected to generate employment, modernise farming practices and strengthen domestic food processing, reducing reliance on imports while lifting exports of value-added agricultural products.
Officials also argued that greater local processing capacity would help stabilise food prices and improve Pakistan’s competitiveness in regional and global markets.
Alongside the Chinese investment push, Pakistan on Tuesday signed three loan agreements worth USD 603 million with the Islamic Development Bank.
According to the Economic Affairs Division, the IMF funding will support the construction of a section of the M-6 Sukkur–Hyderabad motorway and a poverty graduation programme targeting extremely poor and flood-affected households in selected districts, particularly in Punjab, and Sindh, where the damage continues to linger on unrepaired.
The funding commitments come at a time when Pakistan’s growth outlook remains under pressure.
The International Monetary Fund has revised down its GDP growth forecast for Pakistan in the current fiscal year 2025-26 to 3.2 per cent, from an earlier estimate of 3.6 pc, citing persistent structural weaknesses. The global money lender, however, expects growth to recover to 4.1 pc in 2026-27.
By contrast, the IMF upgraded India’s outlook, projecting growth of 6.4 pc in FY26, underlining the regional divergence in economic momentum. Pakistan’s Finance ministry remains cautiously optimistic, arguing that a rebound in large-scale manufacturing and stronger first-quarter performance could still push growth closer to 4 pc this year, pending confirmation of second-quarter data by the National Accounts Committee.
In its latest World Economic Outlook update, the IMF projected global growth of 3.3 pc in 2026 and 3.2 pc in 2027, supported by technology, investment and accommodative financial conditions, but warned of risks from geopolitical tensions and shifting trade policies.
When added together, the Chinese farm-sector investments and fresh multilateral financing offer Pakistan some interim period of relief, and potential longer-term opportunities, provided Islamabad uses the relief period to overhaul and revamp its dysfunctional economy.
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