ISLAMABAD: Saudi Arabia has offered Pakistan $3 billion to help stave off a balance of payments crisis, the Pakistani foreign office said on Tuesday.
Pakistan said Saudi Arabia will place a deposit of $3 billion for one year. The finance ministers of both countries signed a memorandum of understanding to this effect during the Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan’s ongoing visit to the Kingdom.
The Kingdom has also offered a one-year deferred payment facility of up to $3 billion for the import of oil.
Pakistan faces a severe balance of payments crisis, with foreign exchange reserves falling to just over $14.6 billion, as of Oct. 12, according to the State Bank of Pakistan. The Pakistani rupee has also lost more than 20 percent of its value since the beginning of this year.
Pakistan’s balance of payments crisis is rooted in the country’s trade imbalance; the country’s oil and energy imports make up nearly a fifth of the import bill contributing to this imbalance. A deferred payment facility like the one offered by the Kingdom should help ease the pressure on the Pakistani economy in the short term.
Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, along with his foreign, finance, and information ministers, is on a two-day visit to Saudi Arabia to participate in the Future Investment Initiative conference, also known as “Davos in the desert.”
Earlier, speaking at the conference in Riyadh, Khan invited attendees to invest in the country and reap benefits.
During the visit, Khan also met with King Salman and Crown Prince Muhammed bin Salman.
The Saudi Government has assured the Pakistani leadership of Saudi Arabia’s commitment to invest in a petroleum refinery in Pakistan, and explore other investment opportunities in the mining sector as well.
Furthermore, the crown prince has agreed to reduce the visa fee for Pakistani workers coming to the Kingdom, in an effort to enhance the Pakistani workforce in the Kingdom.
Saudi Arabia offers Pakistan $3bn to ease crisis
Saudi Arabia offers Pakistan $3bn to ease crisis
- Pledges deferred oil payments of up to $3 billion
- Pakistan currently facing severe balance of payments crisis, with foreign exchange reserves falling to just over $14.6 billion
Peace can only prevail if Afghanistan renounces support for ‘terrorism’— Pakistan defense chief
- Pakistan’s chief of defense forces visits South Waziristan district bordering Afghanistan
- Pakistan says has killed 481 Afghan Taliban operatives since clashes began last Thursday
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Chief of Defense Forces Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir said on Wednesday that peace with Afghanistan can only prevail if Kabul renounces support for “terrorism” and “terrorist” organizations, the military’s media wing said as the two countries remain locked in conflict.
Fighting between the two neighbors, the worst in decades, broke out last Thursday night after Afghan forces attacked Pakistan’s military installations along their shared border. Afghanistan said its attacks were in response to earlier airstrikes by Pakistan against alleged militant hideouts in its country.
Pakistan accuses Afghanistan of sheltering militant outfits such as the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) on its soil who have launched attacks against Pakistani civilians and security forces in recent years. Kabul denies the allegations.
Munir visited Wana town in Pakistan’s South Waziristan district to review the security situation and troops’ operational preparedness at the Afghan border, the Pakistani military’s media wing said in a statement.
“The Field Marshal reiterated that peace could only prevail between both sides if the Afghan Taliban renounced their support for terrorism and terrorist organizations,” the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said.
The military chief said the use of Afghan soil by militant outfits to launch attacks against Pakistan was unacceptable, vowing that “all necessary measures” would be taken to neutralize cross-border threats.
During the visit, Munir was briefed by military commanders about ongoing intelligence-based operations and measures being taken by the military to manage the border with Afghanistan.
He was also briefed about “Operation Ghazab Lil Haq” or “Wrath for the Truth,” the name Pakistan has given to its military operation against Afghan forces, the ISPR said.
The Pakistani military chief spoke to troops deployed in the area, praising their vigilance, professional conduct and high morale, the ISPR said.
Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said on Wednesday that the military has killed 481 Taliban operatives, injured more than 690 and destroyed 226 Afghan checkposts since clashes began.
Arab News has been unable to verify claims by both sides about the damages they claim to have inflicted on each other.
Afghanistan has signaled it is open for dialogue but Pakistan rejected the offer, saying it would continue its military operations till its objectives were achieved.
Since the conflict began, diplomatic efforts have intensified with several countries, including global bodies such as the European Union and United Nations, urging restraint and calling for talks.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif that Ankara would help reinstate a ceasefire, the Turkish Presidency said on Tuesday, as other countries that had offered to mediate have since been hit by the conflict in the Gulf.
