Pakistan’s Finance Minister announced that the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD) had rolled over their $2 billion deposit with the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).
Late Wednesday, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar announced in a tweet,” Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD) has rolled over their deposit of $2 billion with State Bank of Pakistan, as discussed by #PM @CMShehbaz with His Highness the President of UAE during last week’s official visit to UAE! Long live Pak-UAE friendship!”
Pakistan’s information minister said on January 12 that the UAE would lend $1 billion and roll over a $2 billion loan as the central bank’s foreign reserves dropped to three weeks’ worth of imports.
The UAE’s financial aid helped the country recover from devastating nationwide floods that cost over $30 billion.
Pakistan’s prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, began a two-day visit to the UAE with loan announcements. “This support will help us tide over economic difficulties,” Sharif stated.
Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb said he met UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan and planned to discuss business and economic opportunities with officials and business leaders.
Pakistan’s economy needs external financing because the IMF’s ninth review to release a $1.1 billion tranche has been pending since September.
SBP foreign exchange reserves dropped to $4.3 billion, barely enough for three weeks of imports.
The bank reported commercial bank net foreign exchange reserves of $5.8 billion and total liquid reserves of $10.1 billion.