ISLAMABAD: Following a request from Pakistan, United Arab Emirates (UAE) has rolled over $2 billion for one year to Pakistan.
The development came after Pakistan ‘requested’ United Arab Emirates (UAE) for rollover of $2 billion loan, which is getting mature in the current month of January.
Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar penned a letter to the UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, seeking rollover of the loan.
Overall UAE kept $3 billion as a safe deposit in the State Bank of Pakistan out of which $1bn is getting mature on January 17 and the other $1 bn will mature on January 23, the sources said.
UAE on January 18, 2023, also rolled over Pakistan’s loan of $2 billion on the then-prime minister Shehbaz Sharif’s request, who also held a meeting with the Emirates president.
Last week, the total liquid foreign reserves of Pakistan increased to US$ 13,256.6 million while reserves held by State Bank reached $ 8,154.8 million.
It is pertinent to mention here that the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) completed the first review of Pakistan’s economic reform programme supported by its Stand-By Arrangement (SBA).
“The Board’s approval allows for an immediate disbursement of SDR 528 million (around US$ 700 million), bringing the total disbursements under the SBA to US$ 1.9 billion,” a Finance Ministry news release said.