Pakistan is hoping to have talks with Saudi Arabia soon on financial help for the country.
Finance Minister Ishaq Dar told a news conference that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) had asked Pakistan for more information to finalize its ninth review.
“We hope that we will soon conclude talks, which we have started with Saudi Arabia,” he said in response to a question about whether there was any progress on seeking financial support from the kingdom.
Pakistan’s economy is facing a balance of payment crisis, with central bank reserves have fallen to $6.7 billion – hardly enough for a month of imports – and the current account deficit has widened.
With the IMF’s ninth review delayed, Pakistan needs external financing on an urgent basis. As the review is awaited, Pakistan has been trying to approach allies to seek financial support, and Dar had said that he would expect to get $3 billion from a friendly country.
Earlier The foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) fell another $784 million to $6.715 billion as of 2nd December 2022.
According to the data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the foreign reserves held by the central stood at $6,714.9 million. This is the lowest level of SBP-held reserves since January 2019.
Meanwhile, the net foreign reserves held by commercial banks were recorded at $5,866.8 million, whereas the total liquid foreign reserves held by the country stood at $12.582 billion.
Net foreign reserves held by commercial banks now stand at $5.867bn, meaning the country’s total liquid foreign reserves are now $12.58bn. Strengthening the foreign exchange reserves remained the top agenda of the new government since it took the helm in April. However, SBP’s reserves have since dropped by more than $4bn from around $10.9bn at the time.
“This decline is on account of the payment of $ 1,000 million against maturing Pakistan International Sukuk and some other external debt repayments,” the central bank said in the statement.
Read More : Alarming Situation for Country as State Bank Reserve fell to 6.7 Billion Dollars
