ISLAMABAD: Pakistan received a total of USD694.53 million in foreign assistance during the first month of fiscal year 2026 (FY26), which includes bilateral and multilateral loans and grants, as well as investments in Naya Pakistan Certificates.
According to data released by the Economic Affairs Division in July 2025, Islamabad secured foreign loans worth USD695 million, up from USD436.4 million in the same period last fiscal year – marking an increase of nearly 59 percent.
Against the projected foreign loans and grants target of USD19.7 billion for FY26, Pakistan secured USD694.53 million in July alone.
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The World Bank led disbursements with project loans totalling USD157.69 million under IDA funding and an additional USD52.56 million through an IBRD loan.
The country also received USD100 million from Saudi Arabia as part of the Saudi Oil Facility (SOF), out of a projected total of USD1 billion. The SOF is expected to continue through the first ten months of FY26 (July-April) under the current arrangement.
Total bilateral grant disbursements in July amounted to just USD7.53 million, including USD6 million from China. Bilateral loan disbursements reached USD110.90 million, bringing the total bilateral disbursement for July FY26 to USD118.43 million. The FY26 budget estimates allocate USD84.21 million for bilateral grants and USD1.36 billion for bilateral loans.
Multilateral grant disbursements during July FY26 totalled USD379.88 million, with the grant component at USD11.33 million.
Bilateral loans during the same period accounted for USD368.55 million. Key lenders included the IDA (USD156.24 million), Islamic Development Bank (USD131.20 million), IBRD (USD42.91 million), and the Asian Development Bank (USD33.22 million).
Combined multilateral and bilateral grants stood at USD18.86 million, while loan disbursements totalled USD479.45 million, bringing the overall amount to USD498.31 million. The FY26 budget estimates for multilateral grants are USD63.72 million, with loans projected at USD5 billion.
Disbursements against Naya Pakistan Certificates in July amounted to USD196.22 million, against a total FY26 budget estimate of USD609 million.
The government has planned to receive USD410 million from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) during the current fiscal year.
This will be released under the Resilience Sustainability Facility (RSF), part of the approved USD1.4 billion facility for climate finance spanning 28 months.
These funds will be recorded in the accounting systems of the Economic Affairs Division and the Ministry of Finance.
However, the IMF lending facility under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) is not reflected in EAD or Ministry of Finance accounts, as it constitutes balance of payment (BoP) support and is recorded on the balance sheet of the State Bank of Pakistan.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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