After demanding return of the money given by the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Pakistan has again started reaching out to other countries. Pakistan has to repay a total loan of 3.5 billion dollars to UAE this month. This blow has come to Pakistan at a time when PM Shahbaz Sharif is patting himself on the back by becoming a mediator between America and Iran. PAK is again claiming talks between US and Iran and is also running from pillar to post for money.
Shahbaz extended his hands in front of Saudi and China
According to Bloomberg report, Pakistan is in talks to take loan from China and Saudi Arabia amidst preparations to repay the loan to UAE. At this time, if Pakistan returns money to UAE, its foreign exchange reserves will fall. As of March 27, Pakistan has reserves of about $16 billion, which is enough for only three months of imports. After the American attack on Iran, Tehran fired missiles at neighboring countries including UAE and Saudi Arabia. Meanwhile, UAE has demanded its money back from Pakistan.
What did the Finance Minister of Pakistan say?
Pakistan’s Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said, ‘Pakistan had a very strong foreign exchange before the US-Israeli attack on Iran in late February. We were in a position to repay the loan. PAK Finance Minister along with his officials is currently in Washington to attend the meeting of IMF and World Bank. Aurangzeb said that Pakistan is preparing to return to the global bond market this year by issuing Euro bonds for the first time after a gap of four years.
Pakistan is also planning to take loan from IMF
Pakistan hopes that the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will meet soon and approve the tranche of the $7 billion relief package program. Muhammad Aurangzeb said that at present Pakistan is not considering requesting to accelerate or increase its main program due to the oil crisis. He said, ‘If our economic condition weakens, we will talk to the IMF.’
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