ISLAMABAD – The Economic Affairs Division (EAD) on Monday rejected reports that the government was planning to secure $5 billion in loans from China, Russia and Kazakhstan amid dwindling forex reserves. .
“This is to clarify that no such proposal is under process in the Economic Affairs Division for obtaining $3 billion loan from China and $2 billion loan from Russia & Kazakhstan,” the EAD said in a rebuttal.
Earlier in the day, media reports claimed that Pakistan will seek $3 billion in loan from China and $2 billion from Russia and Kazakhstan.
The reports also claimed an agreement in this regard was likely to be signed during Prime Minister Imran Khan’s visit to China in this week.
The premier will visit China on February 3 to attend the opening ceremony of Winter Olympics in Beijing, besides holding meetings with top Chinese leadership.
Last week, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has said that the main aim of the prime minister’s to attend the inauguration ceremony of Olympics is to express solidarity with China as several Western countries have announced to boycott the event diplomatically.
The mega sports event is set to kick off from Feb 4-20 in the Chinese capital and venues near neighboring towns of Yanqing and Chongli. It will be the second Olympics being held under strict COVID-19 rules amid the threat of the Omicron variant.
Some 2,900 athletes from over 90 countries are expected to participate in the Winter Games in China.
FM Qureshi, in a statement on Thursday, said that Pakistan and China have always stood by each other in difficult times as both countries enjoy exemplary bilateral relations.
ADB approves 500m loan for Pakistan to procure Covid vaccines
