ISLAMABAD: The World Bank will assist the Ministry of Finance in formulating and implementing a debt management strategy, which will contribute to fiscal sustainability while minimising funding costs and keeping the debt exposure under control, Dawn learned on Wednesday.

To help the ministry build capacity in the entities responsible for different debt management functions, the World Bank is expected to approve the grant for the project next month.

The grant is designed to improve debt management practices by assisting the authorities in strengthening two key functions relating to the formulation of a debt management strategy and risk management in the Debt Policy Coordination Office (DPCO) besides helping the ministry raise funds in external markets.

Debt management at the federal level is scattered among various institutions and entities, mostly within the Ministry of Finance, with little coordination among them.

The federal debt management operation includes the budget wing, external finance wing, State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), Central Directorate of National Savings, Economic Affairs Division, and DPCO.

Published in Dawn, December 22nd, 2016