The announcement from Saudi Arabia came following a telephonic conversation between Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan and his Pakistani counterpart Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.
“The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, issued a directive to invest $1 billion in Pakistan, in confirmation of the kingdom’s support of the Pakistani economy and the Pakistani people,” read the statement issued by the Saudi State media on Thursday.
The statement said the Saudi foreign minister informed the Kingdom’s decision to Bilawal during a telephone call. “In addition to discussing the strong Saudi-Pakistani relations and ways to boost them, regional and international issues of common interest are also discussed during the call,” the statement added.
Islamabad is desperately looking for financial assistance from friendly countries to shore up its depleting foreign reserves. The expected release of $1.2 billion next instalment from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will certainly avert any possibility of default.But Pakistan needs assistance from other countries and international financial institutions to keep its economy afloat.
