Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have provided financial support of $3 billion to Pakistan, coinciding with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approving a $3 billion bailout

for the country. Saudi Arabia had previously pledged $2 billion, which was delivered this week, while the UAE contributed an additional $1 billion.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed gratitude to Saudi Arabia for the funds. The IMF also announced the finalization of the bailout package, which will disburse $1.2 billion immediately and stagger the remaining disbursements over nine months.

This marks Pakistan's 13th IMF bailout since the 1980s and is expected to help stabilize the country's economy. The funds have brought relief to investors and contributed to an upgraded credit rating from Fitch Ratings. Pakistan, facing a severe financial crisis and substantial external debts, had foreign reserves of around $4 billion before the bailout. The financial support from Saudi Arabia and the UAE comes after Riyadh announced it would no longer provide further bailouts or interest-free loans to Pakistan. Photo by Uroojmirza71, Wikimedia commons.