Pakistan signs agreement to defer USD 1.2bn payment for Saudi oil

These agreements see “Deferred Payment for Oil Import from Saudi Arabia” worthy USD 1.2 cardinal for 1 twelvemonth and “Construction of Gravity Flow Water Supply Scheme” astatine Mansehra amounting to USD 41 million.

Secretary Economic Affairs Dr Kazim Niaz and Chief Executive Officer Saudi Fund for Development Sultan Abdulrahman Al-Marshad signed the agreements.

Among others, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Saudi Ambassador Nawaf bin Said Al-Malki witnessed the signing ceremony.

Prime Minister Shehbaz welcomed the signing of the lipid import financing facility, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said successful a statement, adding that Pakistan volition person the lipid connected deferred outgo for 1 year, it said.

“This task volition fortify Pakistan’s economical resilience by securing a unchangeable proviso of petroleum products portion reducing contiguous fiscal burdens,” the PMO said.

Petroleum products from Saudi Arabia marque up a large chunk of Pakistan’s import bill.

The Saudi installation to defer the outgo tin assistance Islamabad boost its overseas reserves up of the archetypal reappraisal of a USD 7 cardinal from the International Monetary Fund successful March.

Pakistanis represent 1 of the largest migrant communities successful Saudi Arabia with an estimated 2.64 cardinal moving determination arsenic of 2023.

While 97 per cent of them are blue-collar workers, determination is simply a increasing request for skilled labour successful the Kingdom arsenic it seeks to modernise its system nether the Vision 2030 scheme.