KARACHI: Pakistan’s Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb on Wednesday acknowledged Saudi Arabia’s critical role in helping secure the country’s International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan package and invited his counterpart from the Kingdom to visit Pakistan, during a series of high-level bilateral meetings held on the sidelines of the IMF-World Bank Spring Meetings in Washington, DC.
The IMF approved a $7 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) for Pakistan in September 2024 after Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and China provided essential financing assurances to unlock the package.
The deal was widely seen as vital to stabilizing Pakistan’s economy amid declining foreign reserves and mounting fiscal stress.
The Pakistani finance chief acknowledged the Kingdom’s role in a meeting with his Saudi counterpart, Mohammed Aljadaan, during his trip to the United States.
“Senator Aurangzeb thanked H.E. Aljadaan for Saudi Arabia’s longstanding and strong support to Pakistan in its pursuit of economic development, including through support for the IMF program, and invited him to visit Pakistan,” the finance ministry said in a statement circulated after the meeting.
Aurangzeb reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to economic reforms and welcomed Saudi investments. The meeting followed Aurangzeb’s engagement a day earlier with Sultan bin Abdulrahman Al-Murshid, the top Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) official, where he sought faster disbursements under the $1.2 billion Saudi Oil Facility, an arrangement that allows Pakistan to defer payments on oil imports.
He also requested SFD’s support for the National Highway N-25 and reviewed the pace of implementation of ongoing projects.
In addition to his meeting with the Saudi counterpart, the Pakistani finance chief held separate sessions with senior UAE and Chinese officials.
During a meeting with UAE Minister of State for Financial Affairs Mohamed Bin Hadi Al Hussaini, Aurangzeb discussed his country’s improving economic indicators, including a recent credit rating upgrade by Fitch, and briefed him on the government’s privatization program.
He informed the UAE side that a Staff-Level Agreement (SLA) had been reached with the IMF under the EFF and a new arrangement under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility.
The finance minister also expressed interest in the UAE’s regulatory experience in cryptocurrency and invited his counterpart to visit Pakistan.
In another bilateral engagement, Aurangzeb met with Chinese Finance Minister Lan Fo’an to discuss Beijing’s continued economic support.
He sought support from the People’s Bank of China to fast-track the issuance of Pakistan’s Panda Bond, a renminbi-denominated bond issued in China’s capital markets.
Pakistan’s finance chief acknowledges Saudi role in IMF deal, invites counterpart to visit
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Pakistan’s finance chief acknowledges Saudi role in IMF deal, invites counterpart to visit
- Saudi Arabia, UAE and China provided financing assurances needed to unlock the $7 billion IMF loan
- Aurangzeb also discusses Panda bonds, cryptocurrency regulation with Chinese and UAE ministers
Pakistan says repaid over $13.06 billion domestic debt early in last 14 months
- Finance adviser says repayment shows “decisive shift” toward fiscal discipline, responsible economic management
- Says Pakistan’s total public debt has declined from over $286.6 billion in June 2025 to $284.7 billion in November 2025
KARACHI: Pakistan has repaid Rs3,650 billion [$13.06 billion] in domestic debt before time during the last 14 months, Adviser to the Finance Minister Khurram Schehzad said on Thursday, adding that the achievement reflected a shift in the country’s approach toward fiscal discipline.
Schehzad said Pakistan has been repaying its debt before maturity, owed to the market as well as the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), since December 2024. He said the government had repaid the central bank Rs300 billion [$1.08 billion] in its latest repayment on Thursday.
“This landmark achievement reflects a decisive shift toward fiscal discipline, credibility, and responsible economic management,” Schehzad wrote on social media platform X.
Giving a breakdown of what he said was Pakistan’s “early debt retirement journey,” the finance official said Pakistan retired Rs1,000 billion [$3.576 billion] in December 2024, Rs500 billion [$1.78 billion] in June 2025, Rs1,160 billion [$4.150 billion] in August 2025, Rs200 billion [$715 million] in October 2025, Rs494 billion [$1.76 billion] in December 2025 and $1.08 billion in January 2026.
He said with the latest debt repaid today, the July to January period of fiscal year 2026 alone recorded Rs2,150 billion [$7.69 billion] in early retirement, which was 44 percent higher than the debt retired in FY25.
He said of the total early repayments, the government has repaid 65 percent of the central bank’s debt, 30 percent of the treasury bills debt and five percent of the Pakistan Investment Bonds (PIBs) debt.
The official said Pakistan’s total public debt has declined from over Rs 80.5 trillion [$286.6 billion] in June 2025 to Rs80 trillion [$284.7 billion] in November 2025.
“Crucially, Pakistan’s debt-to-GDP ratio, around 74 percent in FY22, has declined to around 70 percent, reflecting a broader strengthening of fiscal fundamentals alongside disciplined debt management,” Schehzad wrote.
Pakistan’s government has said the country’s fragile economy is on an upward trajectory. The South Asian country has been trying to navigate a tricky path to economic recovery under a $7 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund.
