A report by the Economic Affairs Division said that Pakistan has so far received $7.76 billion in foreign economic assistance – including both grants and loans – in the current fiscal year.
Of this amount, $4.02 billion has been received from multilateral institutions including the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the European Union, while $1.06 billion has been provided by other countries.
According to the breakdown given in the “Disbursement Report March 2022”, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has disbursed $1.17 billion to Pakistan so far.
Separately, the ADB provided $1.94 billion and the International Development Association – a member of the World Bank – $1.1 billion. Meanwhile, the Asian Infrastructure Development Bank has given $546.75 million.
Among friendly countries, Saudi Arabia has provided the highest foreign aid of $100 million in addition to $782.28 million in oil facilities.
China contributed $54.93 million, Japan $34.19 million, France $28.97 million and the United States $24.27 million.
The report also states that the government has secured $900 million from commercial banks and $612.3 million through Naya Pakistan Certificates.
Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves have declined sharply during the current fiscal year and stood at $4.43 billion as of April 14, which would cover less than a month’s worth of imports — the same for several months now.
The country’s $350 billion economy has been reeling amid financial woes and delays in a deal with the IMF that would release much-needed funding to avert the risk of default.
The government has been in talks with the Washington-based lender since late January to resume a $1.1 billion loan tranche on hold since November, which is part of the $6.5 billion Expanded Fund Facility (EFF). But it was agreed in 2019.
The country is moving closer to securing debt as it has shared a plan with the IMF to seek an additional $3 billion to bridge the financing gap.
An agreement with the IMF would also open up other bilateral and multilateral financing opportunities for Pakistan to increase its foreign exchange reserves.
