Islamabad:
Pakistan said it secured $3 billion in financial support from Saudi Arabia, helping to bolster its foreign exchange reserves and offset a loan repayment the country will make to the United Arab Emirates.
Saudi Arabia has committed additional funds with “disbursement expected in the coming week,” Pakistan’s Finance Ministry said in a statement Wednesday, citing its minister Muhammad Aurangzeb.
It also extended an existing $5 billion deposit, which will no longer be subject to the earlier annual rollover arrangement.
“This support comes at a critical time for Pakistan’s external financing needs and would help reinforce foreign exchange reserves and strengthen the country’s external account,” according to the statement.
Nuclear-armed Pakistan and Saudi Arabia signed a mutual defense pact last September, stating that “any aggression against either country shall be considered an aggression against both.”
The two countries have had several meetings about the pact since Iran began retaliatory attacks against its Middle East neighbours, including Saudi Arabia.
On Friday, Saudi Arabia’s Finance Minister Mohammed Al-Jadaan was in Islamabad for talks with Pakistani officials, a day before Islamabad hosted high-stakes weekend peace talks between the US and Iran.
In his meeting with the Saudi minister, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed “strong commitment to expanding its cooperation with the kingdom in all spheres, particularly in trade, investment, and economic development,” according to an official readout.
As the Islamabad talks got underway, a Pakistani military force arrived at King Abdulaziz Air Base as part of the defence pact, according to a post on X by Saudi Arabia’s Defence Ministry.
The Pakistani force comprises fighter jets and support aircraft, the ministry said in a statement.
The move is aimed at enhancing joint military cooperation, raising operational readiness and supporting security and stability in the region, it said.
Earlier, Pakistan failed to reach an agreement with the UAE to roll over about $3 billion in debt for the first time in seven years.
Islamabad will now repay the amount by the end of this month, putting significant strain on its foreign exchange reserves, which stand at about $16 billion – enough to cover just three months of imports.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
