Pakistan has received $2 billion from Saudi Arabia, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar announced Tuesday, a major development for the cash-bleeding nation struggling to meet external payments.
Multilateral and bilateral funds were a major obstacle in the way of Pakistan’s deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) — which remained stalled for more than nine months and expired.
Islamabad then signed a short-term IMF deal on June 30 under a standby arrangement that will disburse $3 billion over a nine-month period, subject to approval by the IMF’s board, which is meeting on July 12.
The SBA has now provided the nation with a breathing space, avoiding a sovereign default, and helped the government streamline fiscal policies.
Dar said during a news conference that the SBP received a $2 billion deposit from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and that this inflow has enhanced the central bank’s forex reserves, which will be reflected in the FX reserves for the week ending July 14.
