Patriot786b2
BANNED
- Joined
- Apr 14, 2019
- Messages
- 615
- Reaction score
- 0
- Country
- Location
Pakistan looks beyond the Gulf towards China.
When Saudi Arabia pressed Pakistan last August to repay early a US$3 billion soft loan, Riyadh’s demand caught Islamabad’s rulers by surprise.
Islamabad quickly dispatched its current army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa to Riyadh to defuse the tensions, but the mission failed as Saudi officials stood firm on their early repayment demand. Riyadh also froze a $3.2 billion oil credit facility with Islamabad.
Saudi Arabia applied the squeeze soon after Pakistan’s foreign minister criticized the kingdom for its perceived stalling on convening an Organization of Islamic Conference’s (OIC) Council of Foreign Ministers meeting on Kashmir, where Pakistan is locked in a conflict with India.
The incident underscored fast-shifting South Asia-Middle East relations, with several Gulf states that previously habitually sided with Muslim majority Pakistan now instead prioritizing growing their commercial and economic ties with India.
That mounting dynamic is pushing Pakistan ever closer to China, which provided funds to repay part of the Saudi loan. On December 17, Pakistan repaid $1 billion as a second tranche of its accelerated repayment schedule.
Full article
https://flip.it/wS.zAf
When Saudi Arabia pressed Pakistan last August to repay early a US$3 billion soft loan, Riyadh’s demand caught Islamabad’s rulers by surprise.
Islamabad quickly dispatched its current army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa to Riyadh to defuse the tensions, but the mission failed as Saudi officials stood firm on their early repayment demand. Riyadh also froze a $3.2 billion oil credit facility with Islamabad.
Saudi Arabia applied the squeeze soon after Pakistan’s foreign minister criticized the kingdom for its perceived stalling on convening an Organization of Islamic Conference’s (OIC) Council of Foreign Ministers meeting on Kashmir, where Pakistan is locked in a conflict with India.
The incident underscored fast-shifting South Asia-Middle East relations, with several Gulf states that previously habitually sided with Muslim majority Pakistan now instead prioritizing growing their commercial and economic ties with India.
That mounting dynamic is pushing Pakistan ever closer to China, which provided funds to repay part of the Saudi loan. On December 17, Pakistan repaid $1 billion as a second tranche of its accelerated repayment schedule.
Full article
https://flip.it/wS.zAf
Last edited: