From Qatar To UAE-Countries That Have Recently Come Forward To Invest In Crisis Hit Pakistan

Pakistan has been dealing with serious economic turmoil and is staring at a balance of payments crisis, with foreign reserves recently dropping to as low as $7.8 billion, barely enough for more than a month of imports. And that¡¯s not all. The country is also contending with a widening current account deficit, depreciation of the rupee against the United States dollar and inflation that surged to more than 24% last month in July 2022.

But amidst all this, the IMF (International Monetary Fund) and some countries have been coming forward to help the crisis hit nation. Lets have a look at the nations that have recently come forward to assist Pakistan.

Qatar

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The Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) had announced recently that it aims to spend $3billion on various commercial and investment sectors in Pakistan, which is currently facing a dire economic crisis, according to a statement released by Qatar¡¯s Amiri Diwan, as per Al Jazeera report.

The announcement was made during a visit to Doha by Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who held official talks with Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani after a meeting with the QIA this week.

¡°His Highness stressed the importance of the brotherly and strategic relations between the two countries and their aspiration to enhance economic partnership by raising trade exchange and promoting investments through the Qatar Investment Authority,¡± the Amiri Diwan reportedly said in its statement.

Also, senior Pakistani minister who was reportedly present during the meeting confirmed to Al Jazeera that the Qatari government has shown its ¡°intention of investing in Pakistan¡±.

¡°This is very good and more than what we needed,¡± he said. The minister further added that once the Qataris buy Pakistani assets, it will ¡°boost our reserves¡±. Adding, he reportedly said ¡°They are interested in airports, seaport terminals, LNG-fired power plants, solar energy, [and] shares in the stock markets.¡±

UAE

Another nation that has come forward to help crisis hit Pakistan this month, is the UAE. The United Arab Emirates intends to invest $1 billion in Pakistani companies across various sectors, state news agency (WAM) reported citing an official source in Abu Dhabi. Also, the UAE is keen to continue cooperation with Pakistan "in various fields, which include gas, energy infrastructure, renewable energy, health care," the agency added.

Also Read: UAE To Invest $2 Billion For Setting Up Food Parks in India

Saudi Arabia

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Saudi Arabia has said that it will invest $1 billion in Pakistan to support the cash-strapped country's ailing economy, the Gulf Kingdom's Foreign Minister told his Pakistani counterpart during a telephonic conversation as recently as yesterday. King Salman has directed to make investments worth $1 billion in Pakistan, the state-run Saudi Press Agency reported.

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan informed his Pakistani counterpart Bilawal Bhutto Zardari about the King's directive during a phone call on Thursday, it said.

During the telephonic conversation, the two leaders discussed ways to further enhance the strong bilateral relations between their countries. They also reviewed the major regional and international issues of common interest, the agency said. Bilawal also reportedly expressed his gratitude to his Saudi counterpart and informed him about the devastation caused by the devastating floods in Pakistan.

Also Read: Pak Minister Asks Citizens To Drink Less Tea

What About China?

Chinese investments in Pakistan have reportedly been drying up recently, and have dropped by 56% during the first half of 2022.

According to the US govt funded media organisation RFE/RL(Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty), these are the findings of a new report from the Green Finance and Development Center at Fudan University in Shanghai, which point to growing headwinds facing Chinese President Xi Jinping's signature foreign policy venture that he had once dubbed as "the project of the century". The report mentioned that China¡¯s BRI (Belt and Road Initiative )spending has been declining for several years as Beijing becomes more risk averse.

IMF¡¯s $6 Billion Assistance

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Besides these countries, crisis hit Pakistan has been keenly looking forward to IMF financing which has been in the pipeline.

The Pakistan representative for the International Monetary Fund (IMF) had reportedly said last week that the IMF¡¯s executive board would meet on August 29th 2022 to decide on resuming a stalled $6 billion loan facility for Islamabad.

Last month, the IMF had said it had reached a staff-level agreement with Pakistan that would pave the way for disbursement of $1.17 billion if approved by the IMF board. Now it remains to be seen how the IMF meeting goes through later this month.

Earlier this week, Pakistan¡¯s central bank also publicly stated that the country¡¯s external financing needs had been ¡°more than fully met¡± for the current fiscal year, ¡°helping reduce external vulnerability¡±.

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