Islamabad (Web Desk):Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday extended his "deep gratitude" to the leadership and brotherly people of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) for the $2 billion deposit with the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).
In a post on Twitter, the premier wrote, "I would like to especially thank my brother Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister His Royal Highness Mohammed bin Salman for ensuring this financial support to Pakistan."
PM Shehbaz hoped that the deposit would strengthen Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves and reflected the growing confidence of the brotherly countries and the international community in the country’s economic turnaround.
"We remain committed to making all necessary efforts to improve Pakistan’s economy," he said.
The prime ministe also lauded Finance Minister Ishaq Dar and Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Syed Asim Munir for the valuable efforts they made in this regard.
On behalf of the people of Pakistan, I would like to extend my deep gratitude to the leadership and brotherly people of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for the US$2 billion deposit with the State Bank of Pakistan. I would like to especially thank my brother Saudi Crown Prince & Prime…
— Shehbaz Sharif (@CMShehbaz) July 11, 2023
Earlier today, Federal Minister for Finance Ishaq Dar said that the brotherly country Saudi Arabia has deposited $2 billion with State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), increasing the total foreign exchange reserves to around $11.7 billion.
Addressing a press conference in Islamabad, the minister said that Saudi Arabia had made an announcement recently that it would deposit its $2 billion with SBP.
"This would be a straight away increase in the country’s foreign exchange reserves that stood at around $9.7 billion on last Friday," he said.
However, the minister added that the new position of exchange reserves would be reflected from coming Friday.
State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has received deposit of $2 billion from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This inflow has increased the forex reserves held by SBP and will accordingly be reflected in the forex reserves for the week ending 14July2023.
— Ishaq Dar (@MIshaqDar50) July 11, 2023