Islamabad: Pakistan’s request to defer 6.3 billion dollar loan from China was discussed in a meeting between Chinese Ambassador Nong Rong and Finance Minister Ishaq Dar.
The request is part of a plan to get $34 billion to meet debt repayments and external trade needs in the current fiscal year.
Apart from this, another proposal is under consideration to seek a new loan from China to repay the outstanding debt for the fiscal year ending June 30.
China’s ambassador came up with a proposal to defer $6.3 billion in commercial loans and central bank loans and issue new loans.
According to Finance Ministry officials, $3.3 billion in Chinese commercial loans and $3 billion in safe deposit loans were due by June next year.
According to sources in the Ministry of Finance, this time Pakistan wants to defer the 3 billion dollar safe deposits for 3 to 5 years instead of one. Sources say that commercial loans cannot be deferred, so the payment must be made first and then the loan amount will be returned again.
The Chinese government took three months to roll over the previous commercial debt of one billion dollars. This will increase the pressure on Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves.
According to sources in this regard, Pakistan was under pressure from Western countries and international financial institutions to roll back China’s loans of 26.7 billion dollars.
While welcoming the Chinese ambassador, Ishaq Dar said that the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) will play an important role in taking Pakistan’s economy forward as well as strengthening bilateral relations between the two countries.
The finance minister shed more light on the economic challenges faced by the current government and the policies aimed at bringing economic and financial stability to the country.
The finance minister also appreciated the support from the Chinese leadership for flood relief and easy installment payment of 15 billion yuan to Pakistan.
The Finance Minister said that the Economic Corridor (CPEC) will play an important role in taking Pakistan’s economy forward as well as strengthening the bilateral relations between the two countries.
Chinese Ambassador Nong Rong reiterated the continuous cooperation and support of the Chinese government for Pakistan and thanked the government of Pakistan for facilitating Chinese companies in various projects in Pakistan.
He assured the full support and cooperation of the Chinese government in the development of Special Economic Zones as part of CPEC.
The proposed visit of the Prime Minister of Pakistan to China was also discussed in the meeting and both sides expressed hope that this visit will further increase the bilateral relations between the two countries.
