Qatar to give $2bn in bilateral support to ease Pakistan’s funding crunch

• An announcement may or may not be announced during PM Shehbaz’s trip.
• Pakistan will also receive $1 billion in oil financing from Saudi Arabia.
• Finance Minister Miftah Ismail meets his Qatari counterpart Ali bin Ahmed Al-Kuwari.

In order to help ease Pakistan’s funding crunch and consequent risk of default, Qatar is expected to give Islamabad funds worth $2 billion in bilateral support, Bloomberg reported Monday.

Ahead of the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) board meeting scheduled to be held on August 29, Pakistan has secured financing worth $4 billion from friendly countries — which was a prerequisite to reviving the stalled Fund programme.

Pakistan will also receive $1 billion in oil financing from Saudi Arabia and a similar amount in investments from the UAE.

State Bank of Pakistan Acting Governor Murtaza Syed in a briefing said: “All the funds are expected over twelve months.”

Syed said that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is travelling to Qatar on August 23 and 24 and an announcement of the assistance from Doha may or may not be announced during the trip.

Earlier today, Finance Minister Miftah Ismail met his Qatari counterpart Ali bin Ahmed Al-Kuwari to discuss bilateral relations and explore areas of joint cooperation.

The assistance will improve the position of the foreign exchange reserves and will further strengthen the local rupee — which was the best performer globally this month according to data tracked by Bloomberg.