KARACHI: Faced with a financial crisis at home, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan’s first visit to Saudi Arabia could provide a much needed boost to the country’s political and economic confidence, experts said on Tuesday.
The trip, which began on Tuesday, holds even more significance as Khan is expected to seek $2-$3 billion in economic aid from the Kingdom, with an urgent need to inject around $9 billion into the economy — to stabilize external accounts largely inflated from high imports and insufficient exports.
“Pakistan expects an injection of around $2 billion to $3 billion in order to stabilize its foreign reserves position, currency and external balance sheet,” Dr. Bilal Ahmed, senior economic analyst, told Arab News.
He added that Pakistan would largely benefit from the visit, especially if the Kingdom is convinced “to supply oil at concessionary rates which would mitigate pressure on the import bill to a large extent.”
During the last fiscal year, 2017-18, the country’s imports of petroleum stood at $13.27 billion, imported from different countries, including Saudi Arabia. “If Pakistan gets the oil at a deferred payment or at relaxed conditions the issue of the country’s cash will be resolved,” Syed Mazhar Ali Nasir, Senior Vice President of the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry — an apex body of Pakistan’s industrialists and traders — told Arab News.
Bilateral trade will be another key area of focus.
“We should explore avenues for exports to Saudi Arabia by ending tariff and non-tariff barriers that have decreased the trade of goods and services,” Dr. Ikram ul Haq, a senior economist and expert in legal matters, said.
Despite holding great potential, bilateral trade between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia is only $3.4 billion and largely in favor of Saudi Arabia.
Pakistan imported $3.1 billion worth of goods from the Kingdom during the fiscal year 2017-18, while exports stood at $316.7 million, data shared by the State Bank of Pakistan showed.
Suggesting new means to explore bilateral trade and investment — by relying less on traditional goods and services – Dr. Haq said: “Pakistan should try to win Saudi contracts for IT services as this is the area where we have potential to earn foreign exchange but we never tried. We must come out of traditional items like textile.”
Agriculture is another sector that Pakistan could tap into to seek Saudi investment through joint ventures, Dr. Haq said: “This area has potential to grow fast and create export surplus. Saudis investors can be lured for modern corporate farming in Pakistan to earn substantial profits.”
Pakistan PM Khan expected to boost aid and trade from visit to Saudi Arabia
Pakistan PM Khan expected to boost aid and trade from visit to Saudi Arabia
- Pakistan imports more than $13 billion of oil
- Agriculture expected to be key focus
Fitch reaffirms Saudi Arabia at A+ on fiscal, external strength
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s sovereign credit rating was affirmed at A+ with a stable outlook by Fitch Ratings, reflecting the Kingdom’s strong fiscal and external balance sheets.
In its latest report, Fitch said Saudi Arabia continues to benefit from large sovereign net foreign assets and substantial fiscal buffers, including government deposits and other public-sector holdings.
These strengths place the Kingdom well above both “A” and “AA” peers on key balance-sheet metrics, the agency said.
The latest rating action comes as the Kingdom continues to navigate the impact of lower oil prices while advancing its economic diversification agenda.
Underscoring the strength of Saudi Arabia’s economic growth, the World Bank earlier this month said the Kingdom’s gross domestic product is expected to expand by 4.3 percent in 2026 and 4.4 percent in 2027, up from an expected 3.8 percent in 2025.
In its latest report, Fitch stated: “Oil dependence, World Bank Governance Indicators and vulnerability to geopolitical shocks have improved but remain weaknesses.”
It added: “Deep and broad social and economic reforms implemented under Vision 2030 are diversifying economic activity, albeit at a meaningful cost to the balance sheets.”
The US-based agency added that Saudi Arabia’s reserves are projected at 11.6 months of current external payments in 2026, well above the peer median of 1.9 months.
The Kingdom’s sovereign net foreign assets are expected to decline due to higher borrowing but will remain a clear credit strength, at 41.2 percent of GDP at end-2026, compared with a peer median of 3.6 percent.
Fitch also forecast a widening of the current account deficit to 4.3 percent of GDP in 2026 from an estimated 3 percent in 2025, reflecting the cost of imported inputs linked to high domestic spending and a small increase in oil export receipts.
“The deficit should narrow slightly in 2027 as revenues benefit from higher oil export volumes, new export facilities coming on stream and higher tourism inflows, supported by slower import growth from lower project spending,” it said, adding that external borrowing and a further reorientation of public assets to domestic from foreign investments should keep reserves stable.
Fiscal deficit to narrow
Saudi Arabia’s fiscal deficit is expected to narrow to 3.6 percent of GDP by 2027 after lower oil revenues and overspending pushed it to an estimated 5 percent in 2025.
Oil revenues are expected to rise from 2025 as higher production offsets the impact of lower prices.
“Non-oil revenues will continue to benefit from buoyant economic activity and improved collection techniques. Fitch assumes spending growth will be low, as capex has likely peaked and measures are in place to contain current spending,” added the report.
Solid growth and reform momentum
According to the report, Saudi Arabia’s economy is expected to expand by 4.8 percent in 2026, following an estimated 4.6 percent growth in 2025.
This expansion will be driven by higher oil production, reflecting OPEC+-related output increases over 2025, as well as robust growth in the non-hydrocarbon sector.
“Prospects for the non-oil sector remain healthy, underpinned by reform, high levels of government and GRE (government-related entities) spending, new projects coming on stream and buoyant consumer spending,” said the report.
Earlier this month, a separate analysis by Standard Chartered echoed similar expectations, forecasting the Kingdom’s GDP to expand by 4.5 percent in 2026, outperforming the projected global growth average of 3.4 percent, supported by momentum in both hydrocarbon and non-oil sectors.
In October, the International Monetary Fund said Saudi Arabia’s economy is projected to expand by 4 percent in both 2025 and 2026.
Fitch added that reform momentum remains strong, citing recent steps including a new investment law and a greater opening of the real estate and stock markets to foreign investors.
“A removal of fees on some expat workers in the industrial sector highlights an understanding of the need to ease near-term bottlenecks. Nonetheless, the resilience of non-oil growth to a period of lower government and GRE spending remains to be tested,” said Fitch.
The report also underscored the health of Saudi Arabia’s banking system, noting that credit growth and high net interest margins have supported profitability.
Over the first three quarters of 2025, capital adequacy edged up to 20 percent, while non-performing loans fell to an all-time low of 1.1 percent.
“Credit growth is slowing owing to macroprudential measures, but should remain just above nominal non-oil GDP growth,” Fitch said, adding that lending growth has continued to outpace deposit growth, leading to a further deterioration in the sector’s net foreign asset position. “However, this remains relatively small compared to total assets of the banking sector and is in stable forms,” it added.
Potential rating sensitivities
Fitch said greater non-oil revenue generation or rationalisation of expenditure, while maintaining the strength of the wider public-sector balance sheet, could support an upgrade of Saudi Arabia’s rating.
A continuation of economic reforms that underpin strong non-oil growth, combined with higher oil prices, could also improve the Kingdom’s credit profile.
On the downside, a deterioration in public finances or a major escalation of geopolitical tensions could lead to a downgrade.
In March 2025, S&P Global also raised Saudi Arabia’s rating to ‘A+’ from ‘A’ with a stable outlook, citing the Kingdom’s ongoing social and economic transformation.
In December, the Public Investment Fund secured an inaugural A-1 short-term credit rating with a stable outlook from S&P Global Ratings, marking a milestone for the sovereign wealth fund as it strengthens its global financial standing.
S&P said the rating reflects PIF’s “robust balance sheet, strong liquidity position, and disciplined financial management,” and aligns with Saudi Arabia’s own short-term sovereign rating.
