Pakistan to receive $3 billion in Saudi assistance within a week — officials

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will receive $3 billion in financial assistance from Saudi Arabia within a week, a finance ministry spokesman said on Friday, as the South Asian nation continues to struggle with depleting foreign reserves.
The Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) announced a generous financial package of $4.2 billion after Prime Minister Imran Khan’s visit to Saudi Arabia in October. 
The SFD said it would deposit $3 billion dollars into the Pakistani central bank to support the cash-strapped South Asian’s nation’s shrinking foreign reserves. 
The kingdom, which is a leading supplier of oil to Islamabad, also pledged it would additionally supply $1.2 billion worth of oil to Pakistan on credit. 
Saudi Arabia had also supported Pakistan back in 2019 with $3 billion deposits and $1.2 billion of deferred oil payment facility. 
Muzammil Aslam, a spokesperson for Ministry of Finance, said the Saudi dollars would be deposited in Pakistan’s central bank “within a week.” 
“Our State Bank is in touch with the Saudi central bank to finalize the transaction,” Aslam told Arab News. 
“This $3 billion deposit from Saudi Arabia in our central bank will be for a year as per the agreement.” 
Information Minister Chaudhry Fawad Hussain said on Thursday all legal matters relating to transfer had been finalized. 
“All legal matters have been finalized relating to the transfer of $3 billion from Saudi Arabia,” he tweeted. “Pakistan will get these dollars this week.” 
Pakistan’s currency and equity markets showed a bullish trend and recovered some of their losses soon after the Saudi announcement last month, as Islamabad’s external account has been under dual pressure of debt repayments and rising current account deficit. 
Earlier this week, Pakistan also reached an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to draw $1 billion loan tranche under a three-year $6 billion accord reached in 2019. 
The agreement awaits approval of the IMF executive board, which is expected to meet in January 2022.