Saudi Arabia Approves MoU With Pakistan to Combat Money Laundering

Saudi Arabia has approved a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Pakistan to curb money laundering and terror financing. The decision was made during a Saudi cabinet session chaired by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Tuesday, according to the state-run Saudi Press Agency. The agreement will facilitate the exchange of financial intelligence and investigative cooperation on related offenses. The development follows Pakistan’s agreement with the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) to defer the longstanding $1.2 billion oil import payment by one year. Saudi Arabia remains Pakistan’s primary petroleum supplier and the deferred payment facility is expected to ease pressure on the country’s forex reserves ahead of the first review of a $7 billion International Monetary Fund bailout in March. In October last year, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia signed investment and trade agreements worth over $2 billion for sectors such as agriculture, semiconductors, textiles, energy, cybersecurity, and digitalization.