World Bank evacuates its staff from Kabul to Islamabad

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The World Bank has evacuated its staff and their families from Kabul to neighbouring Pakistan’s capital Islamabad, according to an internal staff memo issued on Friday and seen by Reuters.</p>
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Radio Pakistan said that foreigners and Afghans attached to the World Bank and other international organizations were among 350 people to arrive in Islamabad from Kabul aboard a special Pakistan International Airlines flight.</p>
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The World Bank has not issued any comments on its operations in Afghanistan since the Taliban seized control of Kabul on Sunday.</p>
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The newly appointed World Bank Country Director for Afghanistan Melinda Good had joined the Kabul office on July 1, succeeding Henry Kerali, who completed his term.</p>
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She is a United States national who joined the World Bank in 2005 and has worked in several leadership positions across the World Bank, including in South Asia. </p>
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The World Bank has 12 active projects in Afghanistan funded by the International Development Association (IDA) for the total amount of $940 million, and 15 projects jointly funded with Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund (ARTF),  with a net commitment value of over $1.2 billion from IDA.</p>
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The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the World Bank Group’s private sector development arm, has a cumulative committed investment portfolio of over $300 million and its advisory services portfolio stands at $11.3 million.</p>
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The World Bank Group’s Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) has $116.5 million of gross exposure for two projects in dairy and cashmere production in Afghanistan. ARTF was established in 2002 to provide a coordinated financing mechanism for the Government of Afghanistan’s budget and national investment projects. Since its inception, 34 donors have contributed over $12.9 billion to the ARTF, making it the largest single source of on-budget financing for Afghanistan’s development.</p>
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