Islamabad (Commerce Desk): Federal Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb has said that the $3 billion loan obtained from Saudi Arabia has been successfully rolled over, which will help Pakistan maintain its foreign exchange reserves at the current level.
Speaking to the media after a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Finance, the Finance Minister responded to a question regarding the renewal of the Saudi loan by saying, “Everything is fine.”
According to the Ministry of Finance, Saudi Arabia had provided Pakistan with a $3 billion loan for three months in April this year to help Pakistan repay its outstanding loan obligations to the United Arab Emirates.
The loan reached its maturity earlier this week; however, the Ministry of Finance had not officially shared details regarding its extension during the previous week.
Muhammad Aurangzeb had visited Saudi Arabia last week along with Federal Energy Minister Sardar Awais Leghari, where discussions were held on financial and economic cooperation as well as various matters of mutual interest between the two countries.
Following the Finance Minister’s return to Pakistan, this is the first public statement regarding the renewal of the Saudi loan.
It is worth mentioning that under the $7 billion IMF programme, Saudi Arabia, China, and the United Arab Emirates had assured that they would maintain their combined deposits of $12.5 billion with the State Bank of Pakistan until September 2026.
Later, after the UAE withdrew its financial support, Saudi Arabia increased its assistance to Pakistan, bringing the total cooperation to $8 billion.