Pakistan early Thursday received two billion dollars from Saudi Arabia hours after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif held a detailed meeting with Crown Prince Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Jeddah, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.
The State Bank of Pakistan has confirmed receiving a fund transfer of $2 billion from the Ministry of Finance of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
The transaction was executed with a value date of April 15, 2026, the State Bank confirmed in a post on social media platform X.
During their meeting in Jeddah, PM Shehbaz Sharif and Saudi Crown Prince discussed Pakistan’s economic situation and ongoing Saudi support for the country’s financial stability.
Riyadh this week agreed to provide an additional $3 billion deposit and extend an existing $5 billion facility to support Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves and ease debt repayment pressures.
The move underlines a deepening relationship between Riyadh and Islamabad, cemented last year by a mutual defence pact treating aggression against either as an attack on both.
The development also comes a day after Finance Minister Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb informed that Saudi Arabia has committed $3 billion in additional deposits, with disbursement expected in the coming week. He further stated that the existing $5 billion Saudi deposit would no longer remain subject to the earlier annual rollover arrangement and would instead be extended for a longer period.
The finance minister made the announcement while talking to members of the media in Washington on the sidelines of the World Bank–IMF Spring Meetings 2026, and shared important details regarding Saudi financial support for Pakistan and the government’s external financing strategy.
Aurangzeb said this support comes at a critical time for Pakistan’s external financing needs and would help reinforce foreign exchange reserves and strengthen the country’s external account.
Earlier, Pakistan has made arrangements to repay $3.5 billion in loans to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) next week. The repayment plan included $450 million borrowed in 1996-97, $2 billion secured in 2018, and an additional $1 billion obtained as deposits in 2023.
According to reports, $450 million will be repaid within the current week. A further $2 billion is scheduled for payment on April 17, followed by $1 billion on April 23.
Officials said Pakistan had finalized all arrangements for the repayments and emphasized that the country’s foreign exchange reserves were sufficient to meet the obligations.
The State Bank of Pakistan currently holds foreign exchange reserves of $16.4 billion.
Pakistan had been paying an annual interest rate of 6.5 percent on rolled-over loans from the UAE.
Reporter Waqas Azeem