The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has informed the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that it will provide Pakistan with $1 billion, according to Finance Minister Ishaq Dar on Friday.
“UAE authorities have confirmed to IMF for their bilateral support of US $1 billion to Pakistan,” Dar stated in a tweet today.
Ishaq Dar continued by saying that the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) was currently “engaged for the necessary documentation for taking the said deposit from UAE authorities.”
The action will make it possible for Pakistan to access the $1.1 billion IMF loan tranche that has been withheld for months in order to support the faltering national economy.
Last week, Saudi Arabia also informed the IMF that it will lend Pakistan $2 billion.
Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves are less than a month’s worth, and it has been waiting since November for an IMF bailout package worth $1.1 billion due to problems with its fiscal strategy.
The government has reduced subsidies, abolished a fictitious exchange rate ceiling, increased taxes, and increased fuel costs in order to release the funding.
The IMF is in talks with friendly nations of Pakistan to provide financial assurances so it can finish the programme, according to managing director Kristalina Georgieva the day before.
IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva has hoped that Pakistan won’t experience circumstances similar to those in Ghana and Sri Lanka. Pakistan won’t be in arrears.
At a news conference in Washington, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said, “It is best not to get there, and right now, we are not there.”
She claimed that IMF representatives and Pakistani officials were also debating how to assist Pakistan “in terms of providing financial assurances so we can complete the programme.”
