MBS directs to study augmenting Saudi Arabia’s investments in Pakistan to reach $10bn: SPA

Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia, has directed to study augmenting KSA’s investments in Pakistan which have previously been announced on August 25, 2022 to reach $10 billion, Saudi Press Agency reported on Tuesday.

“The Saudi crown prince has also directed the Saudi Development Fund (SDF) to study increasing the amount of the deposit provided by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in favor of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) which have previously been extended on December 2, 2022 to hit a $5 billion ceiling, confirming the Kingdom’s position supportive to the economy of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and its sisterly people,” read the report.

Saudi Arabia announces investment of $1bn in Pakistan: report

The development comes within the framework of the existing communication between HRH the Crown Prince and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, added the report.

On Monday, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Asim Munir met Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammad bin Salman to discuss bilateral relations.

According to Saudi media, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman welcomed Pakistan Army Chief General Munir.

The Saudi Crown Prince also congratulated General Munir on becoming the chief of army staff and agreed to strengthen bilateral relations.

During the meeting, it was also agreed to promote military and defence cooperation between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan.

At the Geneva conference on Monday, support poured in for Pakistan with Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb announcing that a total amount of $8.57 billion was secured in pledges in the first plenary of the day-long ‘International Conference on Climate Resilient Pakistan’ in Geneva on Monday.

The second plenary commenced with Saudi Arabia committing $1 billion and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank pledging $1 billion as well, said the information minister in a separate tweet.

Major pledges made at the conference, co-chaired by Pakistan and the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, included $ 4.2 billion from the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), $ 2 billion from the World Bank, $ 1.5 billion from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), $ 1 billion from the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and $ 1 billion from Saudi Arabia.

According to Pakistan’s Resilient Recovery, Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Framework, which it officially presented during the conference, $16.3 billion will be needed in all. Pakistan’s government aims to cover half that amount with “domestic resources”, including its development budget and through public-private partnerships.

But it was looking to the international community to cover the remainder, with the hope that the conference will generate significant pledges of support.

Last week, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar stated that Saudi Arabia “is expected to beef up its deposits in Pakistan in a few days”.

In a press conference, he said that a rollover “is not an unusual thing”.

“All nations of the world opt for borrowing new money to pay old liabilities or they opt for rollover. We are opting for rolling over of deposits,” Dar had said.