IMF Delegation Arrives in Pakistan for Crucial Economic Review Talks, Technical Discussions Begin with State Bank
ISLAMABAD: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) delegation has now come to Pakistan to enter into formal negotiations on the IMF economic review with the government, which is based on the performance of Pakistan’s macroeconomic indicators under the ongoing financial arrangements and on program targets.
Ministry of Finance sources shared with PTI said the IMF mission has started technical talks with officials of State Bank of Pakistan (SBP). The first round of negotiations has been dominated by major monetary indicators, such as the current account deficit, basic policy interest rates and exchange rate changes.
The central bank is giving a detailed update on the economy’s stability and performance indicators. Foreign Reserves: Pakistani authorities are emphasising that foreign exchange reserves have managed to cross the $17 billion milestone.
Foreign Direct Investment: Checking tangible improvement of direct foreign investment and external financial assistance. International Capital Markets: Briefing the mission on successful implementation of international bond issuance and liquidity from external sources. The IMF team will then travel to Islamabad where they will convene with the Ministry of Finance, Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), energy sector divisions, and other relevant ministries, departments and agencies.
The comprehensive review process will take about two weeks, analyzing structural benchmarks, tax policy changes and performance benchmarks through June. The reduction of the structural circular debt will be a key theme of the discussions, both in the electricity and gas segments, with the circular debt reduction targets which have been defined. The successful completion of these reviews is expected to trigger some $1 billion of funds through the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and $200 million for climate resilience funding.