ISLAMABAD: Foreign assistance to Pakistan crossed the USD3 billion mark in the first five months of the financial year 2025-26, which includes bilateral and multilateral loans and grants, as well as investment in the Naya Pakistan Certificates. According to the figures released by the Economic Affairs Division in November, the total foreign assistance is USD314.50 million, which includes bilateral assistance of USD164 million and USD150.48 million of multilateral assistance. In the July-November 2025-26 period, the total bilateral loans and grants stood at USD807.64 million. Whereas multilateral grants and loans amounted to USD1.26 billion in the same period. In the July-November period, the total bilateral grant amounted to USD27.17 million. A major amount of grants came from China (USD10 million), followed by Japan (USD10.56 million) and Saudi Arabia (USD2.20 million). Foreign assistance: Pakistan secures $2.29bn in first four months of FY26 In five months of 2025-26, the total bilateral loans amounted to 780.47 million. This includes Chinese guaranteed loans of USD119.77 million and USD61.71 million from China, USD71.15 million from Denmark, USD15.09 million from Germany, and a major loan of USD500 million received from Saudi Arabia under the oil facility to Pakistan. The total multilateral grant received during the July-November period amounted to USD26.98 million. Out of this USD 15.40 million came from IBRD, USD8.18 million from the IDA, and USD2.72 million from IFAD. The total bilateral loans in the same period reached USD1.26 billion. The Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) provided USD383 million was the top lender, the IDA USD343.15 million, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) USD242 million, IBRD USD181.84 million, IsDB USD 50 million, and IFAD provided USD16.36 million. The financial year 2025-26 budget estimates for multilateral grants are USD63.72 million, with loans projected at USD 5.04 billion. Disbursements against the Naya Pakistan Certificates in the July-November period amounted to USD 965.92 million. To keep foreign exchange reserves at a comfortable level, Pakistan held USD 9 billion as a term deposit. Out of which the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia provided USD 5 billion, and China Safe Deposit of USD 4 billion. The IMF lending facility under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) is not reflected in EAD or Ministry of Finance accounts, as it constitutes the balance of payment (BoP) support and is recorded on the balance sheet of the State Bank of Pakistan. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025