Return of money to the Emirates, Saudi & Qatar to give Pakistan $5b: Turkish media

ISLAMABAD: A Turkish news agency has claimed that Saudi Arabia and Qatar will give Pakistan $5 billion for returning money to the UAE.

According to Turkish media, yesterday, the Saudi Finance Minister met Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, in which he assured Pakistan of his financial support in view of the increasing external pressure and costs due to the ongoing tension in the Middle East.

Turkish media claimed that in the meeting, Pakistan requested more financial assistance from Saudi Arabia, including an increase in existing cash deposits and an extension of the Oil Financing Facility, which is set to expire at the end of this month.

According to Turkish media, this important meeting was attended by Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and Field Marshal Asim Munir, among other senior Pakistani officials. The focus of the meeting was economic cooperation and the regional situation in the context of the recent tension between Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

Turkish media quoted sources as saying that Saudi Arabia and Qatar have assured Pakistan of $5 billion in financial assistance, which will help Pakistan ease pressure on weak foreign exchange reserves and make external payments.

According to a senior Pakistani official, Pakistan will repay a $3.5 billion loan to the UAE by the end of April as Abu Dhabi has requested immediate payment.

Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves currently stand at around $16.4 billion.