KARACHI: China and Saudi Arabia have assured of $13 billion financial support to Pakistan, in addition to around $20 billion investment, to keep the cash-strapped South Asian economy afloat, Pakistan’s finance minister said on Friday.
Ishaq Dar, who recently accompanied Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, on a visit to China told reporters in Islamabad the incoming financial assistance included rollover of sovereign loan deposits, commercial loans and currency swaps from China as well as an increase in financing and deferred payment facility on oil imports from Saudi Arabia.
Top officials in Beijing have assured of over $8.7 billion support while Riyadh has promised an additional $4.2 billion for the current fiscal year, Dar said, giving a breakdown of the inflows.
The financial assistance from China includes the rollover of $4 billion in sovereign loans, refinancing of $3.3 billion commercial loans and increase in currency swap by around $1.45 billion.
“Don’t worry, we will not let you down,” Dar quoted Chinese President Xi Jinping as telling PM Sharif.
The Chinese president assured Beijing’s financial support to Islamabad at a meeting with Sharif on Wednesday.
Both leaders agreed to strengthen the China-Pakistan strategic partnership as well as multilateral cooperation in areas, including the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a $65 billion network of roads, railways, pipelines and ports in Pakistan that will connect China to the Arabian Sea and help Islamabad expand and modernize its economy.
Dar informed that Chinese authorities had also agreed to fast-track the processing of the $9.8 billion Main Line-1 project for dualization of railway tracks from Karachi to Peshawar.
About financial support from Saudi Arabia, he said the Kingdom had given a positive response for increasing its financing by another $3 billion to $6 billion and doubling its deferred oil payment facility to $2.4 billion.
Saudi Arabia has also agreed to revive the around $10 billion oil refinery and petrochemical project in Pakistan, he said.
The finance minister also informed that an additional $1.4 billion inflows were about to mature. These included $500 million from the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and two World Bank loans of $900 million, he added.
