Pakistan to receive $3bn Saudi aid in next couple of days: envoy

ISLAMABAD: Saudi Ambassador to Pakistan Nawaf Saeed Al-Malki on Wednesday said that Pakistan would have the first installment of Saudi aid amounting to $3 billion in the next few days to address its balance-of-payments crisis.

Saudi Ambassador, in an interview,  revealed that the Kingdom would release the amount of $3 billion in terms of the balance of payment, adding  that the  government would also provide a deferred payment facility for the import of oil, worth up to another $3 billion.

“The Saudi companies are keen to invest a huge amount of around $6-8 billion for establishing an oil refinery in Pakistan,” he added.

Sharing the his government's interest to set up a petrochemical industry near Karachi, the envoy said that besides this aid, the Kingdom would like to invest in the power sector of Pakistan.

The  Ambassador also  hinted that an investment would also be made in the Reko Diq project.

Ambassador Nawaf Saeel Al Malkiy said that Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdul Aziz and Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman attach great significance to the Kingdom’s ties with Pakistan in the interest of the two people and Ummah.

After weeks of speculation, Saudi Arabia had last month stepped forward with a $6 billion bailout package for Pakistan’s ailing economy that suffers from a balance-of-payment crisis.

Agreements in this regard were signed on the sidelines of the second edition of the annual Future Investment Initiative (FII) Conference in Riyadh.