Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif set off on a four-day diplomatic blitz to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey on Wednesday, his office said, as Riyadh offered $3bn to ease UAE-linked debt pressure.
"Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif will undertake official visits to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the State of Qatar and the Republic of Turkiye from 15-18 April 2026," Pakistan's foreign ministry said in a statement, using Turkey's official name.
The visits to Saudi Arabia and Qatar will be conducted "in the bilateral context", while Sharif will participate in the Antalya Diplomacy Forum while in Turkey.
He will also hold bilateral meetings with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and other leaders on the sidelines of the Antalya forum, the statement said.
Washington and Tehran held their first face-to-face talks in decades in Islamabad at the weekend, with efforts underway to end the war that began when the United States and Israel attacked Iran on February 28 .
The war has plunged the Middle East into conflict, with Iran targeting US allies in the Gulf -- including Saudi Arabia and Qatar -- in retaliation and blocking energy exports from the region.
The Islamabad talks ended without an agreement to end the conflict, but US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that negotiations could resume this week in the Pakistani capital.
A fragile ceasefire remains in place until next week, despite the United States ordering a naval blockade of Iran.
Sharif was accompanied by Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar -- one of the mediators during the US-Iran talks -- and other senior officials on his visits, his office said on Wednesday afternoon.
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia share close ties, and Islamabad's finance ministry announced on Wednesday that Riyadh would provide Pakistan with $3 billion to help bolster its foreign reserves.
That support came days after Pakistan said it was returning billions in loans to Riyadh's ally-turned-rival the United Arab Emirates .
The finance ministry said an existing $5 billion Saudi deposit would also be extended for an unspecified period.
The move underlines a deepening relationship between Riyadh and Islamabad, cemented last year by a mutual defense pact treating aggression against either as an attack on both.
"We can confirm that Saudi Arabia has agreed to a $3 billion deposit with Pakistan to support their balance of payments," a Saudi Ministry of Finance spokesperson told news agency Reuters .
Pakistan faces a $3.5 billion repayment to the UAE this month that has put a strain on its foreign exchange reserves, which stood at about $16.4 billion as of March 27.
The repayment to the UAE amounts to roughly 18% of those holdings.
Under Pakistan's $7 billion IMF program, the country is targeting foreign exchange reserves of more than $18 billion by June.
Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed Al-Jadaan was in Pakistan on Friday in what one source familiar with the matter described as a show of economic support, without providing further details.
"Senator Aurangzeb said this support comes at a critical time for Pakistan’s external financing needs and would help reinforce foreign exchange reserves and strengthen the country’s external account," the finance ministry said in a statement.
The ministry added that Pakistan is committed to maintaining foreign exchange reserves "in line with its obligations to markets and under the IMF-supported programme".
Pakistan's international bonds rallied on the news, with longer-dated maturities adding nearly 1 cent to trade at their strongest level since late February.
Asked on Monday whether a Saudi loan was on the table to replace the UAE facility, Pakistani Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said "all options are on the table," including Eurobonds, loans and commercial debt.
Saudi Arabia has repeatedly stepped in to support Pakistan during periods of economic stress. In 2018, Riyadh unveiled a $6 billion package that included a $3 billion deposit at Pakistan's central bank and $3 billion in oil supplies on deferred payment.
Pakistan, meanwhile, has emerged as the key mediator between the U.S. and Iran to end the war in the Middle East while also shoring up Saudi Arabia's defenses after the Gulf kingdom came under hundreds of Iranian missile and drone attacks.
Last week, Pakistan deployed fighter jets and support aircraft to Saudi Arabia after Iranian strikes on key Saudi energy infrastructure.