Pakistan on Saturday received the first tranche of USD 500 million from Qatar under the USD 3 billion package consisting of a foreign currency deposit and direct investment to help boost the country’s dwindling foreign-exchange reserves, according to a media report on Sunday.

The first tranche deposited with the State Bank of Pakistan will help boost Pakistan’s dwindling foreign-exchange reserves.The gas-rich nation last week announced that it would invest USD 3 billion in the form of deposits and direct investments after Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani visited Islamabad.

Qatar has not given the details of the USD 3 billion aid, but it signed three memoranda of understanding (MoUs) with Pakistan during the two-day visit of the Qatari Emir to Islamabad last week.

Qatar has emerged as the fourth country to having extended a financial assistance package at times when Islamabad is facing an acute shortage of dollars.

State Bank of Pakistan’s chief spokesman Abid Qamar told Dawn that a deposit of USD 500 million had been received from Qatar.The Qatari foreign ministry said that with the new USD 3 billion investment package the size of the Qatari-Pakistani economic partnership will amount to USD 9 billion.

However, heavy import payments and debt repayments did not let the foreign currency reserves stabilise mainly due to sluggish exports.

The foreign reserves have depleted to six-month low at USD 7.28 billion in the week ended June 21, 2019, as per SBP latest updates on Thursday, which are just USD 700 million higher than almost five-year low at USD 6.63 billion recorded in the week ended on January 18, 2019.