ISLAMABAD – China, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have assured the Pakistan government of debt rollover, a move that would help Pakistan secures the much-needed bailout package from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The Pakistani officials had informed the global lender about the assurances given by the three friendly countries.
Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said the three countries had assured of extending the debt time period for one year, adding that this rollover would be for three years subject to renewal every year.
Pakistan is in talks with the IMF to get a bailout package of $7 billion in order to drive the country out of economic crisis.
A day earlier, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb expressed a hope that the South Asian country would secure the loan programme with IMF, adding that it would bring macroeconomic stability in the country.
Last month, Pakistan and the International Monetary Fund reached a staff-level agreement on a 37-month Extended Fund Facility Arrangement (EFF) of about $7 billion.
This agreement is subject to approval by the IMF’s Executive Board and the timely confirmation of necessary financing assurances from Pakistan’s development and bilateral partners.
Nathan Porter, IMF’s Mission Chief to Pakistan had said the program aimed to capitalize on the hard-won macroeconomic stability achieved over the past year by furthering efforts to strengthen public finances, reduce inflation, rebuild external buffers and remove economic distortions to spur private sector led growth
