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Talks with the IMF are expected to resume this week, the finance minister reveals.
Pakistan to request the IMF dispatch its team to Islamabad for talks and the release of the last tranche worth $1.1 billion.
Muhammad Aurangzeb, the newly appointed Pakistani Finance Minister, poses after taking his oath in Islamabad, Pakistan, on March 11, 2024. Ministry of Finance
Muhammad Aurangzeb, the newly appointed Pakistani Finance Minister, poses after taking his oath in Islamabad, Pakistan, on March 11, 2024. Finance Minister Mohammad Aurangzeb confirmed the situation.
Pakistan is to urge that the IMF send a mission to Islamabad for talks.
The government will also ask the Fund to release the final $1.1 billion tranche.
ISLAMABAD: The country’s newly sworn-in Finance Minister, Mohammad Aurangzeb, confirmed that Islamabad’s talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) under the $3 billion Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) are expected to begin this week, with the government sending a formal request to the monetary body to help Pakistan’s ailing economy, The News reported on Tuesday.
In response to a question about the possibility of submitting a formal request to the IMF for the talks, the minister, who took the oath of office and participated in the federal cabinet’s first session on Tuesday at the President House, expressed hope that talks with the Washington-based lender’s staff would begin this week.
According to insiders, the Pakistani side would write an email to the IMF’s headquarters in Washington, DC, requesting that its review team travel to Islamabad for talks and the disbursement of the final tranche of $1.1 billion.
The Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif-led government may also request that talks begin on a new medium-term bailout package for the $6 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF), with the strong possibility of increasing it with climate financing of $1.5 to $2 billion more to secure additional financing from the IMF beyond Pakistan’s allocated quota.
Last Monday, The News reported that Pakistan will begin important talks with the Fund to complete the second evaluation under the $3 billion SBA initiative.
The formal invitation in this respect was to be extended shortly following the establishment and oath-taking of the federal cabinet, which took place the day before.
Meanwhile, the newly appointed financial czar indicated that the current fiscal year, 2024, would be difficult, adding that now was not the time for idle discussions but rather for action.
