Pakistan, Saudi Arabia extend $3 billion deposit

Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have signed an agreement to extend the maturity of a $3 billion Saudi deposit with the State Bank of Pakistan. The signing took place in Washington on the sidelines of the World Bank-IMF Spring Meetings.

WASHINGTON: Pakistan and Saudi Arabia on Friday signed an agreement to extend the maturity of a $3 billion deposit placed with the State Bank of Pakistan by the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD).

The development was announced by the Ministry of Finance in a post on X, which said, The agreement, signed between the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) and the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), provides for the extension in the maturity of a USD 3 billion deposit placed by SFD with the State Bank of Pakistan.

The agreement was signed by SBP Governor Jameel Ahmed and SFD Chief Executive Officer Sultan bin Abdulrahman Al-Marshad. Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb witnessed the signing in Washington, DC, in the presence of Pakistan’s ambassador to the United States.

The signing took place on the sidelines of the World Bank-IMF Spring Meetings.

Earlier this week, Saudi Arabia pledged an additional $3 billion in deposits for Pakistan and also extended its existing $5 billion facility for another three years.

Financial support framework

The latest agreement relates specifically to the extension of the $3 billion deposit already placed by the SFD with the central bank.

The finance ministry said the signing marked an important financial agreement. The arrangement comes as part of broader Saudi financial support for Pakistan.

Saudi financial assistance has figured prominently in Pakistan’s efforts to manage its external financing position. In that context, the fresh Saudi commitment announced earlier this week included an additional $3 billion in deposits, while the existing $5 billion facility was also extended for a further three years.

Friday’s signing formalised the extension of the maturity period for the $3 billion deposit already held with the SBP.

The announcement came during the World Bank-IMF Spring Meetings in Washington, where Pakistani officials are engaged in meetings on economic and financial matters.

The agreement adds to a series of recent Saudi commitments for Pakistan that were reported earlier this week, including the additional deposit pledge and the extension of the $5 billion facility.