Image: Reuters Berita 24 English - The International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced on Thursday that it had reached an agreement with Pakist...
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| Image: Reuters |
Berita 24 English - The International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced on Thursday that it had reached an agreement with Pakistan at the staff level that would allow for the transfer of $1.17 billion, subject to IMF board approval, and that additional funding for the programme was being considered.
The IMF said in a statement that its staff had reached consensus on guidelines under a review of its Extended Fund Facility (EFF) programme, which, if approved, could increase the program's total payouts to nearly $4.2 billion.
The IMF board will also consider extending the EFF until the end of June 2023 and adding an additional over $1 billion, bringing the total access under the programme to almost $7 billion, in order to address rising financial needs, it was announced.
The IMF team's leader, Nathan Porter, stated in a statement that "Pakistan is at a tough economic juncture," citing the harsh external environment and domestic policies that drove demand to unsustainable levels.
The ensuing economic overheating, he continued, "contributed to growing inflation, eroded reserve buffers, and resulted in significant fiscal and external deficits in FY22."
The fiscal 2023 budget, which sought to maintain development investment while reducing the significant borrowing needs of the government by focusing on higher income taxpayers, was one of the agreed-upon policy priorities, according to Porter.
Pakistan also required to make progress on changes to the power sector, implement proactive monetary policy to control inflation, and seek to eradicate poverty.
Prior to the declaration, the country's finance minister informed network Geo that the IMF negotiations had come to an end.
Pakistan joined the IMF programme in 2019, but so yet, only half of the money have been distributed since Islamabad has found it difficult to stay on track to satisfy goals.
