ISLAMABAD: Ambassador of United Arab Emirates to Pakistan Hamad Obaid Al-Zaabi said a $3 billion loan to Pakistan from the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development would strengthen Pakistan’s fiscal and monetary policy and lead to financial stability.
On Friday, the UAE announced it would deposit $3 billion in Pakistan’s central bank “in the next few days”, a move that will help bring a gaping current account deficit under control.
In a statement issued by the UAE Embassy on late Friday, the ambassador said the deposit will enhance liquidity and monetary reserves of foreign currencies at the State Bank of Pakistan.
“UAE’s support to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is based on the historical relations between the two peoples and the social and cultural ties that unite the two countries through the centuries,” the ambassador said, adding that “the bilateral relations manifest the prospects of broad horizons of cooperation in various fields.”
The government of Pakistan has welcomed UAE's announcement and the finance ministry said in a statement that “the amount will build up foreign exchange reserves, strengthen Pak Rupee and aid the success of government's ongoing homegrown stabilization programme."