–Pakistan to get oil worth $3.2bn on deferred payments from UAE: report
ISLAMABAD: Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan is scheduled to arrive in Pakistan on Sunday, January 6.
Sheikh Mohammed, who also heads a campaign against Islamism in Arabia, was invited to the country by Prime Minister Imran Khan in a telephone call last year.
The visit of the Emirati crown prince is expected to bring an influx of investment in Pakistan. It is pertinent to mention that in December 2018, UAE had announced its intention to deposit $3 billion (equivalent to AED11 billion) in the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) “to support the financial and monetary policy of the country”, reported WAM, the official news agency of the Emirates.
Pakistan is also likely to get oil worth $3.2 billion on deferred payments from UAE this month, Geo News reported on Friday. The report stated that Petroleum Division said that Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed bin Sultan Al-Nahyan is expected to announce the facility for Pakistan during his visit to the country starting January 6. Pakistan is also likely to get a loan of $1.5 billion from Islamic Development Bank’s International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) for the import of liquefied natural gas (LNG) on deferred payment facility, the report added. Currently, Pakistan imports LNG worth $4.5 billion annually. The report further stated that Pakistan, in collaboration with the UAE, is also starting construction of Parco Coastal Refinery in Balochistan worth over $5 billion.
Earlier, Pakistan and the UAE had resolved to strengthen bilateral trade and economic ties, besides fostering cooperation to deal with transnational organised crime, including money laundering, drug and human trafficking.
Bilateral ties were discussed in the meetings between the Emirati leadership and Prime Minister Imran Khan who paid a day-long visit to the Emirates, on the invitation of the crown prince and deputy supreme commander of the armed forces.
The prime minister was accompanied by a high-level delegation comprising Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Finance Minister Asad Umar, Minister for Petroleum Ghulam Sarwar Khan, Minister for Power Omar Ayub Khan, Advisor to the Prime Minister on Commerce Abdul Razak Dawood and Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa.
