Islamabad: Pakistan has returned the total USD 3.45 billion it owed in debt to the United Arab Emirates, the country’s central bank said Friday.
The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) in a social media post confirmed the repayment and said that the transaction was completed on Thursday.
“State Bank of Pakistan repaid a deposit of USD 1 billion to Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD), UAE on April 23, 2026. Deposits of USD 2.45 billion were repaid last week. This completes the repayment of total deposits of USD 3.45 billion to UAE,” it said.
The announcement came days after Pakistan received a USD 3 billion financial aid from Saudi Arabia. The deposit came in two tranches, with the second tranche of USD 1 billion received on April 21.
The UAE had asked for the immediate return of the funds in the wake of the recent situation in West Asia following the US-Israel war on Iran.
These funds were part of external financing support extended by the UAE in 2019 to help stabilise Pakistan’s balance of payments, according to The Dawn newspaper.
In March, Islamabad failed to secure an agreement with the UAE to roll over the USD 3.5 billion facility, marking the first such failure in seven years and raising concerns about near-term financing gaps.
Pakistan’s foreign exchange position, though under pressure, remains part of a broader stabilisation effort under IMF-supported reforms.
Quoting analysts, the report said, external financing risks remain a key vulnerability, particularly amid volatile energy prices and constrained global capital markets.
