Finance Minister Ishaq Dar announced on Wednesday that the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD) has rolled over their deposit of $2 billion with the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).
In a tweet, the minister highlighted that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had discussed the rollover with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, during his recent visit to the country.
The UAE agreed to give Pakistan $1 billion and roll over an existing $2 billion loan on January 12, according to the Pakistani information minister, as the nation’s central bank’s foreign reserves had shrunk to only three weeks’ worth of imports.
The UAE’s financial assistance gave the nation, which is still recovering from devastating countrywide floods that have cost more than $30 billion in damage, some solace.
Shehbaz Sharif, the prime minister of Pakistan, announced the loans as he began a two-day trip to the United Arab Emirates. In a statement, Sharif stated, “This support will help us weather economic hardships.
He met with UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan and was scheduled to speak with other government representatives and business executives about commercial and economic potential, according to Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb.
External finance is essential for Pakistan’s faltering economy because the IMF’s ninth review to approve the transfer of a fresh $1.1 billion tranche of money to Pakistan has been on hold since September.
According to Geo, SBP’s foreign exchange holdings dropped to an alarming $4.3 billion level, barely enough for three weeks’ worth of imports, according to the bank. Net foreign exchange reserves held by commercial banks stood at $5.8 billion, and total liquid reserves at $10.1 billion.
