HomeNewsBusinessPakistan, Saudi Arabia to discuss extending term of $3 billion loan

Pakistan, Saudi Arabia to discuss extending term of $3 billion loan

The cash-strapped nation's foreign exchange reserves plunged below $11 billion last month.

May 02, 2022 / 08:01 IST
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Shehbaz Sharif (Image: Reuters)
Shehbaz Sharif (Image: Reuters)

Pakistan and Saudi Arabia on Sunday said they would discuss extending the terms of a $3 billion loan to help Islamabad's faltering economy.

The Gulf nation has long been an intelligence partner of Pakistan as well as a regular source of financial relief for successive governments.

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The latest sign of support follows a visit to Saudi Arabia by new Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who has inherited a crippling national debt, galloping inflation and a feeble rupee.

A joint statement said the kingdom would continue to support the Pakistani economy and had discussed "augmenting the $3 billion deposit with the central bank through term extension or otherwise".