TOKYO (Agencies) - International donors pledged more than five billion dollars Friday to stabilise poverty-stricken Pakistan, seen as a frontline state in the battle against extremism. The United States and Japan promised one billion dollars each, the European Union pledged 640 million dollars, and media reports said Saudi Arabia, Iran, UAE and Turkey pledged $700 million, $330 million, $300 million and $100 million respectively to help Pakistan meet its short-term financial requirements. Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said the 5.28 billion dollars will enhance Pakistans capacity to fight terrorism and give us the ability to strengthen civic institutions that have weakened over the years. US envoy Richard Holbrooke said there were unexpectedly large pledges from Saudi Arabia, from United Arab Emirates and from many other countries and told reporters that this conference is an extreme success. I think Pakistan should consider this a very good day for the people of Pakistan, he told reporters, but he also stressed: Will it be enough? No. Pakistan needs more. Pakistan needs the worlds help. US President Barack Obama has put Pakistan at the heart of the fight against Al-Qaeda and unveiled a sweeping new strategy to turn around the Afghan war and defeat militants on both sides of the porous border. President Asif Ali Zardari said at the start of the meeting that we are ready to fight extremism, telling delegates that in his country now there is a bomb blast every third day. In spite of the fact that I lost the mother of my children, I have taken up this challenge, said Zardari, whose wife, former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, was killed in a December 2007 attack. It does not end on my border. If we lose, you lose. If we are losers, the world is a loser. Japans Prime Minister Taro Aso, citing recent attacks in Islamabad, Lahore, Mumbai and Kabul, said, seven and a half years have passed since the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the world is still facing the threat of terrorism. Holbrooke called the US pledge over two years a downpayment on President Obamas commitment to a bill to pump 1.5 billion dollars a year into Pakistan for at least five years, to fight poverty and strengthen democracy. Asked about what strings would be attached, Holbrooke said: Thats up to the Congress. The Congress has to sign the cheque, and if they put some conditions, well negotiate with them. The World Bank said the pledges would help Pakistan meet its immediate needs and protect expenditures on safety net and human development initiatives critical for poor people. The amount exceeded initial expectations. Isabel Guerrero, the banks vice president for Southeast Asia, said Pakistan - where up to 40 percent of people live on a dollar a day or less - had faced daunting challenges over the past year. She said the country was hit by an economic crisis worsened by high oil and food prices and then the global recession, as well as political turmoil and senseless militant attacks in the face of these shocks. Among the conference delegates was the foreign minister of Iran, which has had hostile relations for decades with the United States, although Obama has signalled he is willing to resume dialogue. Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki declined to comment on US relations and stuck instead to the meetings theme, telling reporters that we do believe that there is no geographical border for extremism. It is time to have a real and practical change to our approach toward the Afghanistan crisis, he said. Our help to Pakistan... is not assisting only Pakistan, it is assistance to all of us to prevent expansion of extremism. Encouraged by the donors conference, President Zardari in his address said the financial pledges and commitments made by donors and friendly countries give new hope to Pakistan, a frontline state in the war against terrorism. President said he was hoping for the out-of-box solutions, adding that Pakistan welcomes the proposed opening of FoDP Secretariat in Islamabad. He thanked Japan for hosting and organising the conference and said he looks forward to the support and assistance of international community for Pakistan to tackle the challenges of economy and terrorism. President Zardari said Pakistan, which has suffered a lot from the war against terrorism, could not afford to face defeat. Defeat for us, 170 million people, is not a cure, not an answer and we cannot afford it, he said. He recalled the cold war era when a fighting was launched against the occupation of Afghanistan by the Soviet Union forces and said Pakistan and this region was still facing the effects of that situation. It is a different terrain, where no forces ever won, he said adding: Now even after the eight years of effort in the war against terrorism, I dont see winning of this war. Everybody is a loser. The President said Pakistan has suffered much in this war and people and even leaders have lost their lives. Human bombing was alien to our society, he said and added, I have come to you with a plea and draw attention towards this situation. He also mentioned the problem of narcotics and drugs, which needs to be tackled to root out the menace of terrorism by stopping its sources of financing. Zardari, however, added that most of the people of northwest province of Pakistan and the tribal areas have moderate and democratic thinking, which is evident from the fact that they voted for the representatives of PPP in the last election. The people of Swat in Malakand Agency voted for Benazir Bhuttos party, as she was challenging the extremist elements and lost her life for democracy, he added. The President said the democracy for which the PPP fought and which has come in has its own requirements. He said since the PPP government took rein of the country, it was facing various challenges including the economic crisis for which the government negotiated and secured an IMF programme. The President, however, added that he as President of Pakistan as well as being the Co-Chairman of PPP was committed to take Pakistan out of all the difficulties and challenges. Meanwhile, in a statement issued after the ministerial meeting of FoDP, chaired by President Asif Zardari and hosted by Japan, the meeting acknowledged the important role and sacrifices of Pakistan in confronting the menace of terrorism and extremism, as well as its strong commitment to become an anchor of stability and peace in the region as a whole. The meeting expressed support for Pakistans efforts to further advance economic reforms by increasing policy reform, privatisation as well as increasing private sector growth, accountability and transparency. The meeting noted the report of the FoDP experts meeting held in Abu Dhabi on April 1-2. It was decided to establish effective follow-up mechanisms for international cooperation and coordination including working groups, with interested countries and institutions, in the identified areas of development, security, energy and institution capacity building besides trade and finance. These working groups will carry forward the process of analysis, formulation, evaluation and implementation of proposals in the above areas. The existing donor coordination mechanisms will be strengthened. The meeting welcomed Turkeys proposal to host the next high level officials and ministerial meetings in Istanbul.