China, UAE, Saudi Arabia: Pakistan wins additional financing assurances: IMF

WASHINGTON: Pakistan has received “significant financing assurances” from China, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates linked to a new International Monetary Fund program that go beyond a deal to roll over $12 billion in bilateral loans owed to them by Islamabad, an IMF official said on Thursday.

IMF Pakistan Mission Chief Nathan Porter declined to provide details of additional financing amounts committed by China, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, but said these would come on top of the debt rollover.

The IMF’s Executive Board on Wednesday approved a new $7 billion, 37-month loan agreement for Pakistan that requires “sound policies and reforms” to strengthen macroeconomic stability.

The crisis-wracked South Asian country has had 22 previous IMF bailout programs since 1958. “I won’t go into the specifics, but UAE, China and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia all provided significant financing assurances joined up in this program,” Porter told reporters on a conference call.