Saudi Arabia and Egypt have extended an offer to help reduce Pakistan's huge $37 billion foreign debt burden, the Nation reports in its online edition.
The Islamic countries extended this offer during Pakistan Chief Executive General Pervez Musharraf's recent visit to Cairo and Jeddah, said the report.
It said the Saudi offer came from Crown Prince Abdullah, the de facto ruler of the Kingdom, while President Hosni Mubarak gave the Egyptian offer.
“Prince Abdullah and Hosni Mubarak have promised me to help reduce the debt burden,” Pervez Musharraf told a gathering of federal secretaries he addressed last week in Islamabad.
The debt burden has become one of the biggest obstacle in Pakistan’s economic development as Islamabad allocates around 85 percent of its annual tax revenue for debt and interest retirement.
General Musharraf, however, did not give anymore detail on the subject. Since Riyadh and Cairo are close allies of Washington, the offer from both the capitals is quite significant, said the paper – Albawaba.com
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