World Bank to lend $2 bln to Pakistan in 2009: Reuters

(Reporting by Augustine Anthony; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)

ISLAMABAD, Feb 7 (Reuters) - The World Bank plans to lend Pakistan $2 billion this year, the bank said in a statement on Saturday, as the South Asian country struggles to combat inflation and prop up sagging economic growth.

"The bank plans to provide up to $2 billion in credits during this fiscal year to support economic growth and the government's poverty-focussed programmes," the statement quoted the country's director for Pakistan, Yusupha Crookes, as saying.

The statement came at the end of an official visit to Pakistan by the bank's Managing Director, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, who praised the government's efforts to correct macroeconomic imbalances.

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