—— Shehbaz says China is extending all-out support to Pakistan during challenging times
—— Adds $1 billion have been received from China
—— Emphasises the need for getting rid of foreign loans
—— Says non-partisan economic and foreign policies needed to deal with crisis
—— PM also praised Saudi Arabia, Qatar and UAE for helping Pakistan in the challenging times
By Anzal Amin
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif appreciated China for extending all-out support to Paki-stan during challenging economic times and expressed resolve to steer the country of crisis.
“China is fully supporting Pakistan and $1 billion have been received from China,” the premier said while addressing the PM’s National Innovation Awards ceremony in Islamabad on Monday.
In a major boost to the forex reserves, China announced refinancing $1 billion loan in Pakistan, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) confirmed late on Friday.
The news of the refinancing came after Finance Minister Ishaq Dar informed the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue on Friday that China would be refinancing the $1 billion loan it had given to Pakistan earlier.
“$1 billion will come from China today or on Monday,” Dar had told the lawmakers. He also said that talks are ongoing with the Bank of China for a loan of $300 million. He added that Pakistan would also receive dollars under China’s swap agreement.
Speaking at the ceremony earlier yesterday, the prime minister also praised Saudi Arabia, Qatar and UAE for helping Pakistan in the challenging times.
PM Shehbaz emphasised the need for getting rid of foreign loans saying the friendly countries also urged Pakistan to use foreign loans efficiently to fully utilise the potential of natural resources.
The prime minister said Pakistan has been “blessed” with natural resources and it has capacity to be-come self-sufficient.
“We will come out of the economic and financial challenges,” the premier said.
He also proposed non-partisan agenda to lift the country out of crisis saying that all stakeholders in-cluding opposition parties needed to agree on the economic and foreign policy agenda to ensure con-tinuation of the policies.
Cash-strapped Pakistan is working to revive its stalled IMF programme expiring this month as it faces a severe liquidity crunch.
Pakistan is working to revive the stalled International Monetary Fund (MF) programme expiring this month as it faces a severe liquidity crunch.
However, Pakistan is seeing no signs of securing external financing any time soon amid political instability — which has had a huge impact on the deteriorating economy.
The $350 billion economy is in turmoil amid financial woes and the delay in an agreement with the IMF that would release much-needed funding crucial to avoid the risk of default.
The government has been in talks with the Washington-based lender since end-January to resume the $1.1 billion loan tranche that has been on hold since November, part of a $6.5 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) agreed upon in 2019.
The problem arises with the repayment of $900 million to multilateral creditors by the end of June 2023 in the shape of principal and mark-up repayments.
