ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Ishaq Dar said on Friday that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has confirmed to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that it will provide support of $1 billion to Pakistan.
“UAE authorities have confirmed to IMF for their bilateral support of US $1 billion to Pakistan,” Dar said in a tweet today.
Ishaq Dar added that the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) was now “engaged for needful documentation for taking the said deposit from UAE authorities”.
The move will pave way for Pakistan to unlock the months-long delayed $1.1 billion IMF loan tranche to shore up the country’s struggling economy.
Saudi Arabia last week had also told the IMF it will provide $2 billion in financing to Pakistan.
Pakistan has less than a month’s worth of foreign exchange reserves and is awaiting a bailout package of $1.1 billion from the IMF that has been delayed since November over issues related to fiscal policy adjustments.
To unlock the funding, the government has cut back on subsidies, removed an artificial cap on the exchange rate, added taxes and raised fuel prices.
The IMF’s managing director Kristalina Georgieva said the previous day the fund was also in talks with friendly countries of Pakistan to provide financial assurances so it can complete the programme.
Read more: IMF CHIEF SAYS PAKISTAN WON’T DEFAULT
IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva has hoped that Pakistan won’t face Sri Lanka and Ghana-like situations. “Pakistan won’t default. “It is best not to get there, and currently, we are not there yet,” IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said at a news briefing in Washington.
The IMF and Pakistani officials, she said, were also discussing how to support Pakistan “in terms of providing financial assurances so we can complete the programme”.
from ARY NEWS https://ift.tt/cndJijK
