KARACHI, Apr 16 : Pakistan’s central bank on Thursday confirmed that it has received from Saudi Arabia USD 2 billion, part of the USD 3 billion aid that Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb announced a day before.
The transfer of the funds – which has come as a major boost to the skewed foreign reserves — coincided with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s visit to Saudi Arabia in a bid to promote peace in West Asia.
“The amount has been received on April 15, 2026,” the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said in a post.
Saudi Arabia on Tuesday extended its USD 5 billion facility for a further three years and also pledged the additional USD 3 billion deposits for Pakistan.
According to Finance Minister Aurangzeb, who is in the USA, the existing USD 5 billion Saudi deposit would no longer be subject to the previous annual rollover arrangements and would be extended for a longer term.
With USD 2 billion received, USD 1 billion remains to be received, said SBP spokesperson.
With this fresh loan, Saudi Arabia has become the single largest country to have placed a total of USD 8 billion in cash deposits with the central bank.
On Wednesday, Sharif, who is on a three-nation visit, said Saudi Arabia’s support came at a “critical time” for Pakistan’s external financing needs and would help “reinforce foreign exchange reserves and strengthen the country’s external account.”
The USD 3 billion support was announced as Islamabad prepares to repay USD 3.5 billion to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) this month, a step that can bring its foreign reserves under pressure.
The IMF has stipulated that Pakistan’s three key bilateral creditors — Saudi Arabia, China and the UAE — must maintain their cash deposits with the country until the completion of the ongoing three-year programme.
Sharif said the government is committed to maintaining reserves in line with its market obligations and targets under the IMF-supported programme, including the goal of building reserves to around USD 18 billion – equivalent to roughly 3.3 months of import cover – by the end of the fiscal year.
Due to the uncertain global economic situation and the rising oil prices in wake of the West Asia conflict, there is an increasing pressure on the country’s external account position even when Pakistan is playing mediator to bring peace and hosted talks between Iran and the US over the weekend.
According to official figures, Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves stood at USD 16.4 billion as of March 27, sufficient to cover close to three months of imports. However, the repayment requirement from the UAE had added fresh pressure on the country’s external buffers.
In March, Islamabad failed to secure an agreement with the UAE to roll over the USD 3.5 billion facility, marking the first such failure in seven years and raising concerns about near-term financing gaps. (PTI)
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