Islamabad gets ‘positive signals’ for aid from Riyadh and Beijing. Bilawal’s conversations with Saudi, and Chinese colleagues during the Munich conference went beyond expectations, say sources.
ISLAMABAD:
Pakistan is desperately looking to its old allies in the wake of the current economic crisis and has received “positive signals” for critical financial support from China and Saudi Arabia.
Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari met with the head of Chinese foreign policy and his Saudi counterpart last weekend at the Munich Security Conference as the government tries to revive the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme.
No additional information was provided, other than the fact that Bilawal spoke with the Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal Bin Farhan Al Saud and Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Director of the Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs Wang Yi about matters of mutual interest, but diplomatic sources told The Express Tribune on Monday that both meetings exceeded Pakistan’s expectations.
According to a source with knowledge of the situation, both Saudi Arabia and China were eager to assist Pakistan based on the foreign minister’s interactions with them. The source hoped that Pakistan would gain something concrete from the meetings in Munich. I can tell you that the meetings went very well, but I can’t get into the specifics. The source stated that the foreign ministers of China and Saudi Arabia were both very supportive.
To restart the IMF programme, Pakistan must obtain guarantees from Saudi Arabia and China for additional loans. To meet the stringent IMF requirements, the government has already taken a number of actions. These include allowing exchange rates to be set by the market, imposing new taxes, and raising electricity and gas prices.
But the friendly nations of Pakistan must also provide the IMF with unequivocal guarantees that they will make up the shortfall in external funding. Before the Washington-based lender approves the following tranche, Saudi Arabia, China, and the UAE will have to directly provide the IMF with this assurance.
In light of this, Bilawal’s meetings with the foreign ministers of China and Saudi Arabia were important.
Ishaq Dar’s first preference after becoming finance minister in September was to look for financial support from allies in order to avoid the strict conditions of the IMF.
The finance minister claimed in November that he had obtained a $13 billion bailout from China and Saudi Arabia with the help of $5.7 billion in new loans. Dar was certain that the money would arrive prior to the IMF programme revival.
With time, it became clear, though, that Pakistan’s longtime allies would not give the nation any more money unless it first acceded to the IMF’s demands. When it came time to negotiate the deal, Pakistan had to invite the IMF mission.
Pakistan is now relying on the assistance of its friends after working so hard to persuade the IMF.
According to sources, the meetings in Munich will undoubtedly advance the cause of Pakistan.
Wang Yi, the foreign minister of China, claimed that Beijing and Islamabad were constant partners in strategic cooperation and that the friendship between the two countries remained unshakeable.
According to the statement, China is prepared to cooperate with Pakistan to effectively implement the strategic common understandings reached between the two leaders and create an even closer community with a shared future in the new era.
The statement continued, “China firmly supports Pakistan in achieving development and revitalization as well as security and stability, and stands ready to provide assistance within its capacity to help Pakistan overcome short-term challenges.
