Pakistan Clarifies Reports of Loans from China, Russia and Kazakhstan

The Ministry of Economic Affairs has rejected the claims circulating in the media that it has prepared a plan for obtaining US$ 5 billion new loans from China, Russia, and Kazakhstan.

In a statement, the ministry has made it clear that no such proposal was under consideration at the Economic Affairs Division.

A section of media recently reported that Pakistan was expected to obtain a $3 billion loan from China and a $2 billion loan from Russia and Kazakhstan. It claimed, “the Chinese loan will be used to stabilize foreign reserves, while Russia and Kazakhstan are likely to provide $2 billion in loans for ML1 [Railways project].”

It is pertinent to note that the only possible avenue, at present, for an inflow of foreign loans is from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The global lender is expected to meet on February 2 to discuss the stalled $6 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) program.

The IMF website, which lists its Executive Board Calendar, shows that the discussion of “2021 Article IV Consultation, Sixth Review Under the Extended Arrangement Under the Extended Fund Facility, and Requests for Waivers of Nonobservance of Performance Criteria and Rephasing of Access” would be taken up on February 2, 2022.

Source: Pro Pakistani