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Islamabad [Pakistan]Jan 8 (ANI): Pakistan’s PM Shehbaz Sharif to travel as country’s foreign exchange reserves dry up united arab emirates (UAE) sought urgent cash deposits from its West Asian partners on Jan. 10.
Shehbaz Sharif is due to fly to the UAE on Tuesday with his foreign minister, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, and Army chief Saeed Asim is expected to They will also be joined by Syed Asim Munir, who is already on his way to the Middle East, sources confirmed to the Tribune on Sunday.
The Pakistani prime minister is reportedly on the visit amid the country’s worsening economic crisis. Meanwhile, foreign reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) have shrunk to just $4.5 billion, leaving less than a month’s worth of import guarantees.
The market slumped after repaying $1.2 billion worth of loans to Dubai-based commercial banks. Geo News, citing sources, reported that the development leaves Pakistan with less than a month of import guarantees as the country grapples with a worsening economic crisis while trying to lower imports amid a dollar shortage.
According to the report, the breakup revealed that UAE banks had refunded US$600 million, while repaying US$420 million to Dubai Islamic Bank.
The Pakistani government will try to mobilize foreign funding worth $1.5 billion at the upcoming International Conference on Climate Adaptation in Pakistan next week, the report said.
Sharif travels to Geneva on Sunday before heading to the UAE. On January 9, he will head a high-level delegation of federal ministers to Switzerland and co-chair the meeting with UN Secretary-General António Guterres.
The meeting was aimed at helping the people and government of Pakistan to recover more effectively from the recent devastating floods.
“Maybe our friendly countries are waiting for a donor meeting so they can help us (and provide loans),” Ahsan Iqbal, Pakistan’s planning and development minister, told Geo News’ Shahzeb Khanzada last month. (Arnie)
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