A day after Pakistan received $2 billion from Saudi Arabia, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar said on Wednesday that the UAE had deposited $1 billion in Pakistan’s central bank, hours ahead of Islamabad getting a formal nod from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a $3 billion bailout package.
In March, the IMF asked Pakistan to secure financing assurances from friendly states and multilateral donors as a pre-condition to releasing a $1.1 billion tranche from an Extended Fund Facility program that Pakistan entered in 2019. Subsequently, China rolled over a $2 billion loan and Saudi Arabia and the UAE pledged $2 billion and $1 billion respectively.
On Tuesday, Dar thanked the Saudi leadership after Riyadh deposited $2 billion in the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), saying it would increase the country’s reserves and lead to economic stability.
“A short while ago, we got confirmation that our friend and brotherly country the United Arab Emirates has deposited $1 billion in the State Bank of Pakistan’s account,” Dar said in a video message.
“Praise be to God, this will further improve the foreign exchange reserves of our state bank by $1 billion,” the finance minister said, adding that with Saudi Arabia’s deposit, Pakistan’s central bank reserves had grown by $3 billion in two days.
