Pakistan repays $3.45bn to UAE, confirms central bank

The central bank said the $1bn deposit was repaid to the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development on April 23 and $2.45bn was repaid to the UAE “last week”.

“This completes the repayment of total deposits of $3.45 billion to UAE,” said the SBP in a post on X.

A senior official said earlier this month that Pakis­tan had decided to return $3.5 billion in debt to the UAE before the end of this month.

The official described the move as a cost the country was willing to bear to uphold “national dignity”, even as it is set to significantly draw down foreign exch­ange reserves.

These funds were part of external financing support extended by the UAE in 2019 to help stabilise Pakistan’s balance of payments.

In March, Islamabad failed to secure an agreement with the UAE to roll over the $3.5bn facility, marking the first such failure in seven years and raising concerns about near-term financing gaps.

In a separate post on X, a day earlier, the SBP said foreign reserves held by the country stood at $20.63bn as of April 17.

During the current month, Pakistan received a $3bn deposit from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The deposit came in two tranches, with the second tranche of $1bn received on April 21.

Pakistan’s foreign exchange position, though under pressure, remains part of a broader stabilisation effort under IMF-supported reforms.

Analysts say external financing risks remain a key vulnerability, particularly amid volatile energy prices and constrained global capital markets.