Saudi Arabia offers $4.2 billion to stony-broke Pakistan

Riyadh: Saudi Arabia has agreed to provide a total of $4.2 billion to Pakistan to support its economy and confront the coronavirus pandemic fallouts, Arab News reported.

"The Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) announced on Tuesday that a royal directive has been issued to deposit an amount of $3 billion in the Central Bank of Pakistan to help the Pakistani government support its foreign currency reserves as well as to help it overcome the repercussions of coronavirus pandemic," Saudi Press Agency reported quoting SFD statement.

SFD said that another directive has been issued to finance the trade of oil derivatives with a total amount of $1.2 billion during the year. "These generous directives confirm the Kingdom's continued position in supporting the economy of Pakistan," the SFD statement added.

The fund added that these directives confirm the Kingdom's continued stance in supporting the Pakistani economy.

The Saudi aid comes after Prime Minister Imran Khan visited Riyadh for a climate change conference headed by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Saudi Arabia and UAE have extended support multiple times in the past to the nation, which has had to seek an IMF program 13 times since the late 1980s.