KARACHI: Saudi Arabia and the UAE remained the biggest sources of remittances to Pakistan with more than $1 billion transferred to the South Asian nation from the two Gulf countries in November, the Pakistani central bank reported on Monday. With $2.4 billion of inflows during the month, workers’ remittances continued their strong streak and have remained above $2 billion since June 2020, according to the State Bank of Pakistan. In terms of growth, the country’s remittances increased by 0.6 percent in November on a year-on-year basis, while declining by 6.6 percent month-on-month. In a statement, the SBP said: “Cumulatively, at $12.9 billion, remittances grew by 9.7 percent during the first five months of FY22 over the same period last year. “Remittance inflows during November 2021 were mainly sourced from Saudi Arabia ($590 million), the UAE ($452.5 million), the UK ($305.8 million), and the US ($237.8 million).” Proactive policy measures to incentivize the use of formal channels and altruistic transfers to Pakistan amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic had contributed toward the sustained inflows of remittances since last year, the central bank added. Pakistan has deep-rooted fraternal ties with Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Around 2.5 million Pakistani expats live in the Kingdom and more than 1.6 million in the UAE. These Pakistanis have greatly contributed to the development of the two Gulf nations, besides being the biggest source of foreign remittances to Pakistan.