{"text":[[{"start":9.85,"text":"Pakistan has requested a $10bn facility from Washington to shore up its foreign exchange reserves, as the cash-strapped country of 250mn people seeks to capitalise on its role mediating between the US and Iran."}],[{"start":24.049999999999997,"text":"Finance minister Muhammad Aurangzeb made the request directly to US Treasury secretary Scott Bessent in a meeting in Washington on Tuesday, according to four people briefed on the conversation."}],[{"start":35.05,"text":"The support package pitched by Pakistan, which was first reported by Reuters, would involve a five-year repayment period. "}],[{"start":42.65,"text":"Pakistan, along with Qatar, led efforts to negotiate a ceasefire memorandum between the US and Iran. Field Marshal Asim Munir, Pakistan’s most powerful figure, has also built a personal bond with US President Donald Trump, who has called the general his “favourite field marshal”."}],[{"start":60.4,"text":"In recent decades, access to Treasury backstops, routed through the finance ministry’s $219bn Exchange Stabilization Fund, has been relatively rare. However, Bessent has signalled a willingness to use the ESF to help foreign allies in need of dollar liquidity by providing dollars, swaps or guarantees to ease volatility in foreign-exchange markets."}],[{"start":82.9,"text":"The US Treasury previously granted financial support to its ally Argentina, providing a $20bn swap line — in which dollars were provided in exchange for pesos — ahead of midterm elections seen as a crucial gauge of support for Javier Milei."}],[{"start":98.4,"text":"While the support to Argentina attracted criticism from US lawmakers, the US Treasury has confirmed that the facility was repaid following Milei’s victory in the Latin American country’s midterm elections. "}],[{"start":111.2,"text":"Bessent also said in a congressional hearing earlier this year that the UAE and other Gulf and Asian allies had requested swap lines to deal with the economic repercussions of the Iran war. "}],[{"start":123.55,"text":"In a statement after Aurangzeb’s meeting, Pakistan’s finance ministry said the minister had expressed a “desire for US co-operation regarding . . . enhancement in foreign exchange reserves and increased market access based on sovereign credit ratings”. "}],[{"start":138.8,"text":"The US Treasury said in a statement on Wednesday that Bessent had “expressed support for Pakistan’s efforts to build greater economic self-reliance and commended the government’s commitment to creating the conditions for a successful return to international capital markets.”"}],[{"start":154.15,"text":"Pakistan’s central bank reserves of $18bn are enough to cover roughly three months of imports. The State Bank of Pakistan relies on annual rollovers of debts from China and Saudi Arabia to cover its imports and maintain sufficient foreign exchange reserve levels to remain in its IMF programme."}],[{"start":172.3,"text":"The $10bn loan, if granted, would be larger than the $7bn in support Pakistan is receiving from the IMF."}],[{"start":179.65,"text":"Islamabad’s foreign exchange reserves have come under pressure after the US and Israel launched their war on Iran and Tehran’s attacks sharply reduced traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, the key waterway through which a fifth of global oil supplies passed before the conflict. "}],[{"start":196.70000000000002,"text":"In April, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said the country’s oil import bill had more than doubled to $800mn per week from $300mn before the war. "}],[{"start":209.3,"text":"Additional reporting by Myles McCormick"}],[{"start":219.15,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1784779311_3733.mp3"}