Pakistan’s external public debt has seen a rise of $1.2 billion over a six-month period, reaching $86.358 billion as of September 30, 2023, the Ministry of Economic Affairs reported on Wednesday.
This information was disclosed in the Ministry’s quarterly Foreign Economic Assistance (FEA) report for the fiscal year.
The report indicates that Pakistan secured a total of $3.5 billion in foreign inflows during the July-September quarter of 2023, against a repayment total of $1.5 billion. This resulted in a net inflow of $1.97 billion.
It was noted that a significant portion of the debt, approximately 64%, came from multilateral and bilateral sources offering concessional terms and longer maturities.
As of the end of September 2023, the government’s total external public debt stood at $86.358 billion, up from $85.18 billion at the end of March 2023.
During the same period in the previous fiscal year, Pakistan had a net addition of $142 million from loans received and repaid.
New agreements totaling $642 million in fresh commitments were signed in the first quarter of the current year.
Due to adverse market conditions, these commitments were exclusively funded by multilateral development partners, as securing international bonds and commercial loans was deemed unfeasible.
The ministry’s report highlighted that of the $642 million in new commitments, 69% was allocated for project financing, with the primary focus on addressing the aftermath of the 2022 floods.
Additionally, 15% was earmarked for program financing, and 16% for commodity financing.
The first quarter saw disbursements totaling $3.538 billion mainly under project and program loans and grants from various partners, including multilateral development banks, bilateral partners, and financial institutions.
This is in addition to the $1.2 billion released by the International Monetary Fund and $1 billion by the United Arab Emirates, which are accounted for separately.
The World Bank and Islamic Development Bank were among the leading contributors, with China and Saudi Arabia being notable bilateral partners.
The total debt servicing for the first quarter amounted to $2.404 billion, resulting in a net positive balance of $1.869 billion for the government’s external public debt.
The report also detailed sectoral disbursements, including significant allocations for flood response, energy and power, water sector, transport and communication, health and nutrition, agriculture, and physical planning and housing.
