ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: The Prime Minister’s Adviser on Finance and Revenue Shaukat Tarin has said that the Saudi financial support package of US$ 4.2 billion is for one year and will prove to be useful especially when the Pakistani rupee is under pressure and international oil prices are soaring.
While addressing a News Conference along with the Minister for Energy Hammad Azhar in Islamabad on Wednesday, Shaukat Tarin said that the package includes US$ 3 billion in deposits with the State Bank of Pakistan and US$ 1.2 billion worth of oil supplies on deferred payments.
The adviser said that during talks in Saudi Arabia, the Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman expressed his happiness to extend the support to Pakistan. He said that the Saudi Crown Prince said that Pakistan holds a special place for the Kingdom.
Also Read: Saudi Arabia announces to deposit $3 billion with State Bank of Pakistan
Responding to a question, Shaukat Tarin emphatically said that the Saudi package has no connection with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) program. He was confident that the IMF will also revive its loan facility for Pakistan saying it will have a positive impact on our market.
In his remarks, the Minister for Energy Hammad Azhar said that our oil prices are lower in the world except the ones producing oil.
To keep the prices on the lower side, he said that we have given a tax exemption of Rs 450 billion.
Hammad Azhar said that it is expected that the commodity prices will see a declining trend in the next six months and the benefit will be passed on to the masses.
