Pakistan gets $1 billion boost from UAE ahead of key IMF decision

Pakistan's state bank coffers were further boosted Wednesday by a $1 billion deposit from the United Arab Emirates, officials said. The deposit comes a day after Saudi Arabia transferred $2 billion to Islamabad, and brings the state's foreign reserves to $7.5 billion -- more than double last week's account balance.

The board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved a $3 billion, nine-month bailout programme for Pakistan on Wednesday, the IMF said. Pakistan and the Fund had reached a staff level agreement late last month, securing much-needed funding for the cash-strapped country.

"As a time-tested friend & brotherly country, the UAE has always come forward to support Pakistan," Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif tweeted late Wednesday.

"We deeply acknowledge this kind gesture & consider it critical to our efforts to stabilise the economy."

Finance Minister Ishaq Dar said the UAE deposit would be reflected on the books by Friday.

Years of financial mismanagement have pushed Pakistan's economy to the limit, exacerbated by the Covid pandemic, a global energy crisis and record floods that submerged a third of the country last year.