Pakistan PM thanks UAE President for financial help, explores ties in phone call

UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed and Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif discussed ties and financial support over a phone call on Wednesday.

The call came one week after economically dire Pakistan received a $1 billion deposit from the UAE to shore up its foreign reserves. Neighboring Saudi Arabia also deposited $2 billion.

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The transfers were made ahead of an IMF bailout of $3 billion that the South Asian country received on July 12. The money from the two GCC countries strengthened Pakistan’s foreign reserves to $7.5 billion – more than double its account balance from a week before.

During the call between the two leaders, Sharif “expressed his appreciation to His Highness Sheikh Mohamed for the UAE’s support in strengthening Pakistan’s economy,” the official Emirates News Agency WAM reported.

He also “praised the UAE’s longstanding approach of extending assistance to Pakistan and its people, and expressed his pride in the historic relations between the two countries,” according to the same report.

Pakistan has suffered from a balance-of-payments crisis as it attempts to service crippling external debt amid a fraught political environment – following the removal of the country’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan.

Inflation has rocketed, the rupee has reached a record low against the dollar and the country is struggling to afford imports, causing a severe decline in industrial output.

In a tweet, Pakistan’s Prime Minister, Shehbaz Sharif, said the IMF’s approval was “a major step forward” in the government’s efforts to stabilize the economy and achieve macroeconomic stability.

“It bolsters Pakistan’s economic position to overcome immediate- to medium-term economic challenges,” giving authorities fiscal space to chart the way forward, he added.

With AFP

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