ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will likely secure a multibillion-dollar financialsupport package from long-time ally Saudi Arabialinkthismonth, two sources said, as the country’s ninth review of a $7 billion IMFbailout ran into snags.
The two finance ministry officials said the Saudi package would includedeposits boosting the country’s foreign reserveslinkandoil on deferred payments.
Finance Minister Ishaq Dar said earlier he hoped talks with Saudi Arabiawould happen soon.
“We are expecting that we will, God willing, get financial support fromSaudi Arabia, most likely this month,” one of the senior officials told*Reuters*, adding it would be around a $4 billion package.
“Some of that package will go to our reserves and the rest is oil and someother commodities on deferred payments,” he said.
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“Pakistan has brotherly relations with Saudi Arabia. Both countries havehelped each other in times of need,” a finance ministry media official toldReuters, without elaborating or giving any further details.
Pakistan’s economy is facing a balance of payment crisis. The central bankreserves have fallen to $6.7 billion — barely enough for a month of imports.
The fiscal deficit has already touched 1% of the GDP in the first quarterof the current financial year against 0.7% of the GDP agreed with the IMF
