Saudi Arabia Sends $2B to Pakistan to Bolster its Foreign Exchange Reserves
PAKISTAN – Saudi Arabia sent $2 billion to Pakistan to help bolster Islamabad’s foreign exchange reserves, with the State Bank of Pakistan confirming receipt on Thursday.
The transfer came shortly after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Jeddah.
Pakistan’s finance minister said earlier this week that Saudi Arabia had agreed to provide $3 billion in financial assistance, with the remaining funds expected to be disbursed next week.
The support comes as Pakistan is set to repay $3.5 billion in debt to the United Arab Emirates by the end of the month.
Saudi Arabia and Qatar are expected to provide a combined $5 billion in assistance to help Islamabad ease pressure on reserves and meet external payments by June.
Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves remain under strain due to rising import costs, and officials have warned they could decline further without fresh inflows.
Total liquid foreign exchange reserves stand at about $21.89 billion, including $16.4 billion held by the central bank and approximately $5.49 billion held by commercial banks.
Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said Pakistan made $1.4 billion in external payments last week.
