Saudi Arabia commits to help Pakistan secure critical IMF deal: minister

Saudi Arabia has conveyed to International Monetary Fund its commitment to provide financing to Pakistan, a critical support to secure IMF funding, Pakistani junior finance minister Aisha Ghaus Pasha has said.

Saudi Arabia's $2 billion pledged in external financing support to Pakistan is one of the final conditions for an IMF deal that Islamabad needs to avert a default.

"Apparently Saudi Arabia has committed to IMF, and IMF has indicated to us that there has been a correspondence from them," Pasha told reporters in Islamabad on Thursday.

The IMF's resident representative did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

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Secure assurances 

The IMF has asked Pakistan to secure assurances on external financing from friendly countries and multilateral partners to fund its balance of payment gap for this fiscal year, which ends in June.

Islamabad has been hosting an IMF mission since early February to negotiate a series of policy measures to secure $1.1 billion in funding for the cash-strapped economy, which is on the verge of collapse.

The funds are part of a $6.5 billion bailout package the IMF approved in 2019, which analysts say is critical for Pakistan to avert defaulting on external payment obligations.

The deal will also unlock other bilateral and multilateral financing avenues for Pakistan to shore up its foreign exchange reserves, which have fallen to four weeks' worth of import cover, and help it steer out of a balance of payment crisis.

Pasha said Islamabad was also in talks with UAE to secure an assurance for foreign reserves deposits in the central bank. 

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