Pakistan, IDB ink $1.2b financing plan

Pakistan and the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) have signed a $1.2 billion financing agreement for import of oil and food products, as Islamabad also completes procedural formalities to receive oil on deferred payments from Saudi Arabia of a similar value. The cumulative financing of $200 million per month by the IDB group and Saudi Arabia is expected to ease pressure on the rupee, as 45% depreciation in over three years has stoked inflation in the country. The International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) of the IDB and Pakistan signed a $1.2 billion annual plan for 2022, according to a statement issued by the Ministry for Economic Affairs. The annual plan would provide integrated trade solutions to support Pakistan’s energy and agriculture sectors for sustained economic growth, it added. It is for the first time that both the borrower and the lender have agreed to include the import of food products in the financing facility, which was earlier meant only for oil and gas imports.