Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Saudi Arabia agrees to help Pakistan with £3bn

Saudi Arabia agrees to help Pakistan with £3bn

SAUDI Arabia has agreed to provide $4.2 billion (£3 bn) worth of assistance to cash-strapped Pakistan to support its economy, it emerged on Wednesday (27) after prime minister Imran Khan held talks with the kingdom’s crown prince Mohammad bin Salman in Riyadh this week.

Pakistan’s information minister Fawad Chaudhry took to Twitter to announce the assistance which came just two days after Khan paid a three-day visit to the Gulf kingdom.


“Saudi Arabia's announcement supports Pakistan with 3 billion US dollars (£2.1 bn) as deposit in Pakistan central bank and also financing refined petroleum products with 1.2 billion US dollars (£870 million) during the year,” he said in a tweet.

Khan thanked crown prince Salman for the “generous aid” when Pakistan's economy was facing difficulties.

Addressing a press conference, the prime minister's adviser on finance, Shaukat Tarin, said the Saudi financial support package was for one year and would prove to be useful to lift pressure on the Pakistani rupee.

Tarin stated that the Saudi package had no connection with the IMF programme, which he said would be revived.

Pakistan’s currency has depreciated around 13.6 per cent since May and it is believed that smuggling of dollars to neighbouring Afghanistan was the main reason for it.

In 2018, Saudi Arabia had provided $3 bn (£2.1 bn) in cash deposits and promised another $3 bn oil facility to Pakistan to help its foreign exchange reserves in 2018.

However, as the bilateral relations deteriorated later, Islamabad had to return $2 bn (£1.45 bn) of the deposits.

Pakistan announced in June this year that Saudi Arabia was about to make available a $1.5 bn (£1 bn) oil facility per annum.

Now it has provided direct disposition assistance along with oil facilities after the visit of Khan.

The Saudi government would immediately deposit $3 bn (£2.1 bn) in Pakistan's account for a year and keep it rolling at least until the completion of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme in October 2023, the Dawn newspaper said.

Pakistan and the IMF had signed a $6 bn (£4.3 bn) deal in July 2019 but the programme was derailed in January 2020 and restored briefly in March this year before again going off the track in June.

From June to August there were no serious discussions between the two sides.

In addition, the Saudi government would provide crude oil to Islamabad on deferred payments worth up to $1.5 bn (£1 bn) per annum, the report said.

(PTI)

More For You

Octopus Energy Unveils Smart Home EV Charger to Slash Charging Costs

It follows a broader strategy by Octopus Energy to offer home energy hardware

Getty Images

Octopus Energy unveils first smart home EV charger to cut charging costs

Octopus Energy, the UK’s largest electricity supplier, has launched its first home electric vehicle (EV) charger, named Octopus Charge. The charger is designed to integrate with the company’s smart energy system to enable cost-effective and environmentally friendly charging.

Smart charging through Kraken platform

The new Octopus Charge device connects to the energy supplier’s proprietary Kraken platform, which automatically adjusts charging to coincide with times when electricity is cheapest and greenest. This enables EV owners to take advantage of lower rates and reduce their carbon footprint.

Keep ReadingShow less
Record-breaking data breach

The data is spread across 30 different datasets

iStock

Record-breaking data breach exposes 16 billion credentials, raising global cybersecurity concerns

A massive new cybersecurity report has revealed what experts are calling the largest data breach in history, involving over 16 billion login credentials. The records, uncovered by researchers at Cybernews, appear to come from a variety of sources and have raised alarm bells across the tech and cybersecurity industries.

Unprecedented scale of exposure

The data is spread across 30 different datasets, with individual troves containing between tens of millions and more than 3.5 billion credentials each. In total, the exposed records add up to 16 billion, a staggering number that equates to more than two credentials for every person on Earth.

Keep ReadingShow less
leaders discussed the new Defence Cooperation Accord between the UK and Bahrain,

The leaders discussed the new Defence Cooperation Accord between the UK and Bahrain, aimed at deepening joint military training and naval ties.

Crown Prince of Bahrain's website

UK and Bahrain strengthen defence and investment ties

PRIME MINISTER Keir Starmer met Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, prime minister of Bahrain, at Downing Street on Thursday.

A Downing Street spokesperson said the leaders discussed the UK-Bahrain relationship and welcomed the UK becoming a full member of the Comprehensive Security Integration and Prosperity Agreement (C-SIPA), a trilateral pact with Bahrain and the United States focused on regional security.

Keep ReadingShow less
Swiss banks

Funds held in customer accounts by Indian clients rose by 11 per cent in the year to 346 million Swiss francs (£3.14m) and accounted for about one-tenth of overall funds.

iStock

Indian funds in Swiss banks triple to £3.1bn in 2024

INDIAN money in Swiss banks more than trebled in 2024 to 3.5 billion Swiss francs (£3.1bn), attributed to a rise in funds held through local branches and other financial institutions, annual data released by Switzerland's central bank showed on Thursday (19).

However, funds held in customer accounts by Indian clients rose by 11 per cent in the year to 346 million Swiss francs (£3.14m) and accounted for about one-tenth of overall funds, the report showed.

Keep ReadingShow less
Bank of England

In a statement, the central bank pointed to a recent rise in energy prices, citing the 'escalation of the conflict in the Middle East' as a factor.

Getty Images

Bank of England holds interest rate at 4.25 per cent

THE BANK OF ENGLAND (BoE) kept its key interest rate at 4.25 per cent on Thursday, citing persistent inflation and rising risks from US tariffs and the conflict between Israel and Iran.

The decision, which was widely expected, came a day after the US Federal Reserve also left its interest rates unchanged, pointing to continued inflation and slowing growth in the United States.

Keep ReadingShow less