ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has received deposits of $1 billion from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Finance Minister Ishaq Dar announced on Wednesday.
In a televised message on Wednesday, the finance minister said the friendly country — the UAE had made a commitment in the recent past regarding giving additional $1 billion deposits to Pakistan.
On Wednesday, the UAE placed these deposits with the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), which would boost the country’s foreign exchange reserves, he added.
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Pakistan’s reserves rose by $3 billion within two days.
The forex reserves will reach $14-15 billion by the end of July, said the minister, adding that it would roughly be the same figure when Shehbaz Sharif took over as the prime minister. The reserves were almost the same, but repayment liabilities were billions of dollars, and which were paid without any delay, said the minister, adding that speculations about the country’s default have died of natural death.
Later in a tweet, Dar said the inflow from the UAE has further increased the country’s foreign exchange reserves held by the SBP “and will accordingly be reflected in the forex reserves position for the week ending 14 July 2023”.
The finance minister extended his gratitude towards the UAE leadership on behalf of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Syed Asim Munir and the Pakistani nation for proving to be a friend like always, especially when the country was facing difficult times. As per their announcement, the UAE has physically submitted the deposit with the SBP, he added.
He further said the UAE had assured PM Shehbaz during his recent short trip there of depositing the promised funds soon. “They gave similar messages to me and the army chief as well.”
In a tweet, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also thanked the UAE president for the $1 billion deposit. Grateful to my dear brother, H.H. Mohamed Bin Zayed, President of the UAE, for the deposit of $1 billion with the State Bank of Pakistan. As a time-tested friend and brotherly country, the UAE has always come forward to support Pakistan. We deeply acknowledge this kind gesture and consider it critical to our efforts to stabilize the economy.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023
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