UNITED NATIONS: The International Labour Organisation (ILO) in its report has categorized Pakistan as a lower-middle income country which remains vulnerable to fluctuating energy prices.
The UN labour agency in its report about Asia and Pacific states that South Asia has few direct links with the Russian Federation and Ukraine but is very vulnerable to the higher global commodity prices that have resulted from the conflict (World Bank 2022h). GDP growth in 2022 was revised down by around 2 percentage points as a result of the conflict, owing to inflation and worsened public finances. Growth prospects were already “uneven and fragile” and now all figures have been revised downwards. Global economic pressures resulting from the conflict in Ukraine are expected to worsen public finances and domestic inflation in the subregion.
One extreme example is Sri Lanka, which is already unable to pay import bills (World Bank 2022h). Several countries, such as Bangladesh, rely heavily on exports to Europe; weaker demand for these goods is reducing growth prospects in the subregion. Inequality both between and within countries is growing and the recovery from the pandemic has been deeply uneven.
The report says that the highest-paid workers are much more likely to have returned to work than are lower-skilled migrant workers (World Bank 2022h). Recent high and volatile energy prices have shown how vulnerable the region is with respect to energy imports; there is a clear need to become less dependent on these imports (ILO 2022f).
The region (of South Asia) remains highly vulnerable to natural disasters, for example on the flood plains of Pakistan and Bangladesh. Countries such as Pakistan are also increasingly held back by very high levels of energy subsidies, which weigh heavily on public finances and are failing to reduce poverty effectively (World Bank 2022g).
