A ray of light

The commitments of nearly $10bn for flood recovery at the donors’ conference in Geneva on Monday must boost sentiments about the future of the country’s teetering economy. The bulk of the money — $8.7bn — is promised by multilateral agencies, and will be available over the next three years. However, it remains unclear if the multilateral assistance will be in the form of loans or one-time aid/grants. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who co-chaired the moot, said announcements for in-kind support were also made by several delegations in addition to the multilateral and bilateral pledges. Separately, Saudi Arabia has also hinted at its willingness to augment its deposits with the SBP from $3bn to $5bn, as well as boost its promised investments to $10bn to support cash-strapped Pakistan. However, these developments or the pledges made at the conference will not solve Pakistan’s immediate dollar liquidity crisis as is being touted by some government officials.