Islamabad: Saudi Arabia has pledged an additional financial support of USD 3 billion to Pakistan and also extended an existing USD 5 billion facility for three years, local media reported.
The support comes at a crucial juncture as Islamabad prepares to repay USD 3.5 billion to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) this month and faces pressure on its foreign exchange reserves.
“Saudi Arabia has pledged an additional USD 3 billion in deposits for Pakistan and has extended its existing USD 5 billion facility for a further three years,” Dawn quoted Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb as saying in Washington.
“The existing USD 5 billion Saudi deposit would no longer be subject to the previous annual rollover arrangement and would instead be extended for a longer term,” he added.
The announcement came as Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is expected to undertake official visits to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Türkiye from April 15–18.
“The fresh Saudi support comes at a critical time for Pakistan’s external financing needs and will help bolster foreign exchange reserves and strengthen the external account’, Geo News quoted Aurangzeb while speaking to journalists in Washington on the sidelines of the World Bank-IMF Spring Meetings 2026.
The IMF has stipulated that Pakistan’s three key bilateral creditors — Saudi Arabia, China and the UAE — must maintain their cash deposits with the country until the completion of the ongoing three-year programme.
Aurangzeb said that the government is committed to maintaining reserves in line with its market obligations and targets under the IMF-supported programme, the report said.
