Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi
The UAE on Tuesday extended the due date for the repayment of a USD 2 billion loan given to Pakistan to help the cash-strapped country stabilise its economy. The Foreign Office here said in a statement that it was decided during the meeting of Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi with his UAE counterpart Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan in Abu Dhabi on Monday.
"Pronouncing the UAE’s decision to roll over the USD 2 billion deposit by the Abu Dhabi Fund, Foreign Minister Abdullah affirmed the UAE’s commitment to extend every possible support to Pakistan," it said.
Foreign Minister Qureshi thanked him, underscoring that the decision "reflected the warm and brotherly ties between the two countries”. He also thanked the UAE for its continued support and cooperation bilaterally, as well as at the international fora.
Earlier, the UAE had determined April 19 as the deadline for the repayment of a USD 2 billion loan which it provided in early 2019 to Pakistan to boost liquidity.
Pakistan, which has been facing a serious economic crisis with short supplies of foreign currency reserves and stagnating growth, had reportedly borrowed over USD 10 billion as loans from friendly countries like China, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE to stabilise the foreign exchange reserves and repayment of old loans.
The foreign ministers reaffirmed their mutual desire to further strengthen cordial relations between the two countries. They reviewed the entire gamut of bilateral relations, discussing ways to enhance cooperation in diverse areas including trade, investment, infrastructure, energy, technology, tourism and manpower, the Foreign Office said.
They also exchanged views on regional and global issues of mutual interest. Qureshi briefed his counterpart on the situation in Kashmir and Pakistan’s consistent efforts to support the ongoing peace and reconciliation process in Afghanistan, it said.
Qureshi invited his counterpart to visit Pakistan at the earliest opportunity. Foreign Minister Abdullah accepted the invitation.
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