Pakistan and the IMF have agreed to continue talks under the $6 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) program.
According to reports in the media, the IMF’s Resident Representative for Pakistan met with Finance Minister-designate Miftah Ismail last Friday and agreed to resume talks under the $6 billion EFF program.
According to sources, the IMF representative told Miftah Ismail that she is looking forward to continuing to support Pakistan’s authorities on economic policies and reforms in order to ensure macroeconomic stability in the face of the current difficult global economic environment.
A Pakistani delegation has also arrived in Washington, D.C., according to sources, to participate in the Spring Meetings, which begin on Monday.
According to the sources, Finance Minister-designate Miftah Ismail will also attend the virtual meeting this week.
Due to deteriorating balance of payment concerns, Miftah Ismail has already stated that the next government intends to begin the IMF program.
Pakistan must pay $2.5 billion in the final quarter of the current fiscal year, with SBP reserves of $10,849.6 million for the week ending April 8, 2022.
It is worth noting that Pakistan and the IMF began negotiations for the seventh review on March 4, 2022, but they were not completed in two weeks due to lender objections to the industrial package as well as the electricity and petroleum product rates announced by the PTI government on February 28, 2022.
If the seventh review is finished, Pakistan will be eligible for $1 billion.
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