Pakistan Receives $ 2 Billion From Saudi Arabia

Finance Minister Ishaq Dar announced Tuesday that Saudi Arabia had provided $2 billion in financial assistance to Pakistan a day before the International Monetary Fund (IMF) board is expected to approve a desperately needed $3 billion bailout.

Dar thanked Saudi Arabia in a recorded video on behalf of the prime minister and army chief, calling it a “great gesture” from the longtime friend.

According to Dar, Saudi Arabia deposited the money with the central bank to increase Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves, which were previously only sufficient to pay for a month’s worth of restricted imports.

According to Reuters, Saudi Arabia pledged the funds and then waited for the International Monetary Fund’s aid package to proceed before depositing them with the State Bank of Pakistan.

“It reflects the growing confidence of our brotherly countries and the international community in Pakistan’s economic turnaround,” Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said.

The IMF will distribute the remaining funds throughout the nine-month agreement, with Pakistan receiving approximately $1.1 billion upfront.

The Saudi Arabia funding and IMF deal will open up more bilateral and multilateral finance for the country. As a result, Pakistanis foreign exchange reserves will reach $15 billion by the end of this month, Dar expected.

Islamabad secured a $3 billion IMF bailout on the last day of June.

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