As the newly elected administration has hinted at obtaining a new loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the global lender will visit Pakistan for the second review of the existing Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) on March 14-18 in Islamabad.
“Pakistan has met all of the structural benchmarks, qualitative performance criteria, and indicative targets required for the IMF assessment to be completed successfully. This would be the SBA’s final review, and personnel level agreement is expected following this appraisal,” according to a statement issued by the Finance Ministry.
The ministry noted that once the agreement is reached, the final tranche of $1.1 billion under the SBA will be disbursed with the approval of the IMF’s Executive Board.
Last summer, Islamabad obtained a last-ditch rescue plan, preventing a sovereign debt default, according to Reuters.
The final examination, if successful, will result in the release of approximately $1.1 billion, according to the ministry.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has already asked his financial team, lead by newly appointed financial Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, to begin work on obtaining an Extended Fund Facility (EFF) after the current standby arrangement expires on April 11.
The global lender has stated that if Islamabad applies, it will develop a medium-term scheme.
The government has not formally announced how much additional funds it seeks from the fund through a successor scheme.
