World News | Talks with Pakistan on 9th Review of USD 7 Billion Fund 'productive' So Far: IMF Official
Get latest articles and stories on World at LatestLY. A top IMF official on Wednesday said talks with Pakistan on the ninth review of USD 7 billion fund had been "productive" so far and the global money lender looked forward to continuing the discussions over policies that adequately address the rehabilitation needs from the floods while preserving fiscal and external sustainability.
Islamabad, Dec 14 (PTI) A top IMF official on Wednesday said talks with Pakistan on the ninth review of USD 7 billion fund had been "productive" so far and the global money lender looked forward to continuing the discussions over policies that adequately address the rehabilitation needs from the floods while preserving fiscal and external sustainability.
Pakistan entered a USD 6 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme during Imran Khan's government in 2019, which was hiked to USD 7 billion earlier this year. The programme's ninth review is currently pending with remote talks being held between IMF officials and the government for the release of USD 1.18 billion.
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"Discussions to date in the context of the 9th review have been productive, and have enabled a revision to the macroeconomic outlook post floods as well as an in-depth evaluation of fiscal, monetary, exchange rate, and energy policies adopted since the completion of the combined seventh and eight reviews," IMF Resident Representative for Pakistan Esther Perez Ruiz was quoted as saying by Dawn newspaper.
She added that the IMF "looks forward to continue the dialogue over policies that adequately address the humanitarian and rehabilitation needs from the floods while also preserving fiscal and external sustainability given available financing".
Her remarks came a day after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday decried a "callous IMF", saying the global lender had put shackles on Pakistan because of which the government's efforts for rehabilitation of flood victims and providing relief to the masses had become a huge challenge.
"On the one hand, the government is burdened by the economic destruction caused by the previous government and the resulting inflation, while there are the strict conditions of the IMF (International Monetary Fund),” Sharif said while performing the groundbreaking of M6 Hyderabad-Sukkur motorway.
"We need funds for flood recovery but the IMF has shackled us," he was quoted as saying by the Express Tribune newspaper.
"It is a big challenge but there is no question of giving up.”
In its last review in August, the IMF approved the 7th and 8th tranches of USD 1.17 billion, of its USD 7 billion Pakistan programme.
Earlier this month, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar told a private television channel that he was not concerned whether the IMF team arrived in Pakistan for the ninth review, indicating that there may be an impasse in the ongoing talks.
A Dawn report last month said Pakistan was behind on multiple performance criteria essential for the completion of the review, with authorities hinting they had asked for some waivers from the financial institution.
For its part, the IMF said in a statement that Pakistan's “timely finalisation” of a recovery plan from floods was essential to support discussions and continued financial support.
Pakistan's teetering economy is facing a balance of payments crisis, a ballooning current account deficit, and inflation hitting an all-time high of 27 per cent.
The devastating floods, which left more than 1,600 dead and displaced more than 30 million people, added to Pakistan's forex woes, with an estimated loss of over USD 28 billion to the economy.
In August, New York-based rating agency S&P Global revised Pakistan's long-term ratings from 'stable' to 'negative' given the spiralling inflation and tighter global financial conditions.
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)