11/8/08

Vital International Aid for Pakistan

Saudi Arabia has agreed to give $4 billion to Pakistan and provide oil facility on one-year deferred payments to bail out the country from a debilitating economic crisis.

Separately, the US will also be supplying Pakistan with 50,000 tons of wheat under a food-aid program.

Pakistan will make a decision after November 10th on whether or not to seek financial help from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the country's top economic official said on Friday.

Pakistan is facing a balance-of-payments crisis but is hoping to avoid an IMF programme, which entails painful conditions, by securing help from allies and other multilateral lenders.

Shaukat Tarin, the prime minister's top economic adviser, told Reuters that Pakistan needs $10 billion to $15 billion to avoid a balance of payments crisis and make adjustments over the next two years.

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