Pakistan gets $2.75 bln in COVID-19 support funds from IMF

A resident receives a dose of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine at a drive-through vaccination facility in Karachi, Pakistan August 3, 2021. REUTERS/Akhtar Soomro

REUTERS

Pakistan on Tuesday received $2.75 billion from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) under a Special Drawing Rights (SDR) programme to support low-income countries hit by the coronavirus, its central bank said.

The funds, part of a $650 billion global programme, will shore up Pakistan's foreign reserves, under pressure from a rise in the current account deficit and falling remittances from workers based abroad.

Pakistan entered a $6 billion IMF program in 2019, a sixth review of which has been pending since March.

Pakistan has reported more than 1.1 million coronavirus cases and more than 25,000 pandemic-related deaths.

Reporting by Asif Shahzad; editing by John Stonestreet