By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan received a $1 billion deposit from the United Arab Emirates, the second inflow of funds from a friendly nation in two days, as it seeks to shore up its dwindling foreign exchange reserves.
The UAE placed the deposit with the State Bank of Pakistan on Wednesday, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar said in a televised message. He thanked the UAE leadership for their support and said the deposit would help stabilize the economy.
The deposit comes a day after Saudi Arabia transferred $2 billion to Islamabad, and brings the state’s foreign reserves to $7.5 billion – more than double last week’s account balance.
The economy has been stricken by a balance-of-payments crisis as it attempts to service crippling external debt, while months of political chaos have scared off foreign investment.
Inflation has rocketed, the rupee has plummeted, and the country is struggling to afford imports, causing a severe decline in industrial output.
Years of financial mismanagement have pushed Pakistan’s economy to the limit, exacerbated by the Covid pandemic, a global energy crisis and record floods that submerged a third of the country last year.
Securing financial support from friendly nations has been a key condition of the IMF for approving a new standby deal for Pakistan worth $3 billion.
“As a time-tested friend & brotherly country, the UAE has always come forward to support Pakistan,” Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif tweeted. “We deeply acknowledge this kind gesture & consider it critical to our efforts to stabilise the economy.”
Finance Minister Ishaq Dar said the UAE deposit would be reflected on the books by Friday.
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