Vikrant Shekhawat : Apr 06, 2023, 09:11 PM
Pakistan Economy: Pakistan, which is facing a cash crunch, has got the approval of additional two billion dollars financing from Saudi Arabia, which will help Pakistan to get the much-needed relief package from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). According to a report published in the local newspaper 'The News' on Thursday, the Saudi administration is about to make a public announcement in this regard. The announcement is likely to happen during the upcoming visit of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to Saudi Arabia.According to the report, Saudi Arabia's ambassador to Pakistan recently indicated that his country has "always helped Pakistan in difficult situations and good news will be given soon". Eagerly awaiting verification on an additional $1 billion deposit from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to move towards a personnel-level agreement.The IMF has placed a condition that for the restoration of the seven billion dollar relief package, Pakistan will have to secure an amount of three billion dollars from other countries as a deposit. According to the report of the newspaper 'The Express Tribune', this help from Saudi Arabia is coming at such a critical time when the IMF program signed in 2019 is about to expire on June 30, 2023. As per the laid down guidelines, this program cannot be extended beyond the stipulated time frame.Although there are possibilities to extend the program by three to six months, according to 'The News' report, no discussion or final decision has been taken so far. Pakistan was also given a loan of two billion dollars by its 'biggest ally' China last month.