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A day after Saudi Arabia sent USD 2 billion to Pakistan's central bank as part of a deal with the International Monetary Fund, Pakistan received USD 1 billion from the UAE on Wednesday to increase its reserves.
On the eve of the IMF board meeting to ratify a USD 3 billion Stand-by Agreement, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar announced the transfer of funds by the Gulf country.
"We were informed a while back that the UAE, our friend and brother nation, had placed USD 1 billion into the State Bank's account. In a video message shown live on television, he stated, "The Federal Reserves Bank has confirmed that this sum has been credited to the (SBP's) account.
Dar claimed that the money received this week from Saudi Arabia and the UAE had "increased the country's reserves by USD 3 bn in two days," which would be reflected in the weekly report on foreign exchange reserves that was scheduled to be released on July 14.
In the name of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Chief of Army Staff General Asim Munir, and the people of Pakistan, he expressed gratitude to the leadership of the UAE for its assistance during trying times.
Also thanking UAE President Mohamed Bin Zayed for the USD 1 billion deposit Prime Minister Sharif. The UAE has consistently offered its assistance to Pakistan as a dependable friend and brotherly nation, he said.
The "kind gesture," which was essential to the attempts to stabilize the economy, was recognized by Pakistan, he claimed.
In order to satisfy the IMF, which declined to deliver the final USD 2.5 billion of a USD 6.5 billion loan program that was agreed in 2019 and expired on June 30 of this year, Pakistan has been battling to get adequate foreign currency.
Later, under tight terms that included finding money to improve the balance of payments, the IMF agreed to grant USD 3 billion over a period of nine months.
