Pakistan's prime minister on Wednesday welcomed a first-of-its-kind agreement with the World Bank for a plan to focus $20 billion in lending to the cash-strapped nation over the coming decade on development issues like the impact of climate change as well as boosting private-sector growth.

The World Bank plans to loan cash-strapped Pakistan $20 billion over the coming decade to nurture its private sector and bolster resilience to climate change, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said.

Pakistan’s prime minister has welcomed the first-of-its-kind agreement with the World Bank under which his country will receive $20 billion in the next decade to invest in renewable energy, education,

The deal, which begins in 2026 under its Country Partnership Framework, is to help address the impoverished country's acute development challenges