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Riyadh also agrees to supply $ 3 billion worth of oil with deferred payment
Riyadh also agrees to provide $ 3 billion worth of oil with deferred payment. PHOTO: APP
ISLAMABAD: Saudi Arabia has agreed to provide $ 3 billion in financial assistance to lift Pakistan out of the economic quagmire, the Foreign Office announced on Tuesday.
"A memorandum of understanding has been signed between Finance Minister Asad Umar and Saudi Finance Minister Muhammad Abdullah Al-Jadaan," the statement said.
"It was agreed [that] Saudi Arabia will deposit a $ 3 billion deposit for one year as balance of payments support. "
Saudi Arabia has announced that a one – year deferred payment office for the import of oil, of a maximum amount of 3 billion USD, would be provided by the bureau of Saudi Arabia. foreign Affairs. "This arrangement will be in place for three years, and will be reviewed later," he added.
The Prime Minister went to Riyadh at the invitation of King Salman bin Abdulaziz to attend the FII (Future Investment Initiative) conference on 22 and 23 October 2018.
During the visit, said the Foreign Ministry, Prime Minister Imran had in-depth talks with King Salman and Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman. Mohammed Salman agreed to reduce visa fees for Pakistani workers
He described the move as a significant step in improving the country's workforce in Saudi Arabia and in facilitating the movement of people from both countries.
Earlier in the day, the Prime Minister spoke at the conference on the special invitation of Saudi King Salman bin Abdul Aziz to Riyadh.
The Prime Minister spoke about finding loans to address the economic crisis in Pakistan and how the government was striving to create an environment conducive to investment.
"What we hope is a bit of both, getting a loan from the IMF and other loans from friendly governments," said Prime Minister to attendees at the conference on investment from Riyadh.
The country also needs two oil refineries to meet the demand and discuss these projects with Saudi investors, the prime minister said.
added, adding that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was organizing a delegation of Saudi businessmen to invest in Pakistan.
Prime Minister Imran told the public of local and international entrepreneurs and financial leaders that his government's immediate concern was to increase exports.
On October 23, 2018, Prime Minister Imran Khan spoke with a moderator at the opening ceremony of the FII conference on the Future Investment Initiative. PHOTO: AFP
"We need to increase our exports because we are short of foreign exchange reserves because of our current account deficit. We need more funding through banking networks, as about eight to nine million Pakistanis work abroad and live abroad. We need to strengthen our foreign exchange reserves, "he added.
The prime minister shared his vision of investment opportunities in the "new Pakistan". He said: "But the new Pakistan is actually Pakistan that it was supposed to be. Pakistan was the only state, one of the two, formulated in the name of an ideology that was Islam. So when we talk about the new Pakistan, it comes down to the vision of the founding fathers of Pakistan. And what the founding fathers of Pakistan envisioned was a state based on the principles of the first Islamic State of Medina. "
Dubai King Mohammed bin Rashed al-Maktoum (2 L), Saudi Minister of State Ibrahim al-Assafa (left) and Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan (2 R) attended the opening ceremony of the the FII conference on the Future Investment Initiative in Riyadh. PHOTO: AFP
Speaking about ties with India, the Prime Minister said that he had reached out to friendship with India. The move, he said, had been postponed. He attributes this to an anti-Pakistani rhetoric scandalous in India. Prime Minister Imran said that he would try again after the conclusion of the general elections in the neighboring country
Asked about the role of women in her vision of Pakistan, he said women were repaying their loans at rates higher than men's and would be involved in microfinance on the last pillar of the government's housing program.
Prime Minister Imran Khan (C) on his arrival at the opening ceremony of the FII conference of the Future Investment Initiative in Riyadh on October 23rd. PHOTO: AFP
Khashoggi fallout
A number of nations have boycotted the alleged killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, but Prime Minister Imran is attending the event to project Pakistan's investment potential and engage with leaders business. A question and answer session with the prime minister will also take place, according to information minister Fawad Chaudhry.
Riyadh governor, Faisal Bin Bandar bin Abdulaziz, Pakistan's ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Khan Husham bin Siddique, and other officials on Tuesday received Prime Minister Imran in Riyadh. He had arrived from Medina by plane.
Pakistan "desperate" for Saudi loans to support the economy: Prime Minister Imran
The Prime Minister will also address King Salman bin Abdel Aziz and meet with Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman to discuss issues of common interest during the visit. Foreign Ministers Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Finance, Asad Umar, Fawad Hussain, Trade, Abdul Razzaq Dawood, Trade Advisor, and Haroon Sharif, President of the Investment Board, are part of the entourage of the Prime Minister.
The government was "desperate" for any Saudi loans to support the economy, Prime Minister Imran said on Monday. Before leaving for the kingdom, he told an interviewer that, even though Khashoggi's murder had left him worried, he could not skip the conference because of Riyadh's possible help.
This is the second visit of the Prime Minister to Saudi Arabia in just over a month. But it failed to secure significant financial assistance to avert an imminent balance of payments crisis.
He said at Eye of the Middle East in an interview, he could not let the invitation go to meet Saudi rulers again. "If I have to seize this opportunity, it's because in a country of 210 million people, we currently have the worst debt crisis in our history. , "He was quoted as saying.
"Unless you get loans from friendly countries or the IMF [International Monetary Fund]In fact, we will not have enough money in two or three months to repay our debts or pay for our imports. So we are desperate for the moment, "he added.
Prime Minister Imran arrives in Saudi Arabia to attend investment conference
Islamabad has already asked the IMF to open negotiations for the country's second potential bailout in five years. Prime Minister Imran, who took office in August, has sought alternatives to the difficult conditions that the IMF will likely impose on loans, thus limiting his vision of an Islamic welfare state.
The central bank's foreign exchange reserves fell this month to $ 8.1 billion, the lowest level in four years and barely enough to cover the sovereign debt payments due until the end of the year. year. The current account deficit has reached about $ 18 billion. The Prime Minister accused the previous government's policies of aggravating the growing current account deficit.
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