KSA in talks with World Bank, others to be ‘more creative’ in supporting Pakistan: Saudi minister

Saudi Arabia Minister of Finance Mohammed Al-Jadaan said that the Kingdom is in talks with the World Bank and other financial institutions to come up with “more creative” ways to provide support to Pakistan.

Speaking to Bloomberg TV from the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos on Tuesday, Al-Jadaan said Saudi Arabia was working with multilateral institutions to provide support to Pakistan, Turkiye and Egypt.

“We are investing heavily in these countries, and we continue to look forward to opportunities to invest,” said Al-Jadaan.

Last week, Saudi state media reported that 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.

“The Royal Highness (Prime Minister Mohammad Bin Salman) made it very clear last week that we are looking to invest $10 billion in Pakistan. We have a deposit that we have just signed an extension for and are providing oil and derivatives to support their energy needs," Al-Jadaan said in the interview.

“So there is a lot of effort but we want this to be collective. We are working with multilateral institutions like the World Bank to see how we can be more creative to provide that support,” he added.

The Saudi finance minister stated that the Kingdom is open to discussions about trade in currencies other than the US dollar.

Meanwhile, speaking at the WEF on Wednesday, Al-Jadaan also said the kingdom is changing the way it provides assistance to allies, shifting from previously giving direct grants and deposits unconditionally.

"We used to give direct grants and deposits without strings attached and we are changing that," Reuters quoted him as saying. He added that Saudi Arabia was encouraging countries in the region to make reforms.

"We need to see reforms. We are taxing our people, we are expecting also others to do the same, to do their efforts. We want to help but we want you also to do your part."

The minister's statements come as Pakistan’s economy undergoes one of its worst phases in history, with the cash-strapped country struggling to attain inflows from bilateral and multilateral institutions while the crucial International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme remains in the doldrums.

As per latest State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) data, foreign exchange reserves held by the central bank fell by a hefty $1.23 billion to a highly critical level of $4.34 billion. This is the lowest level of SBP’s reserves since February 2014.

Total liquid foreign reserves held by the country stood at $10.19 billion, and net foreign reserves held by commercial banks stood at $5.85 billion.