Pakistan, IMF reach staff-level agreement, says Bloomberg

ISLAMABAD: In a major development, Pakistan and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Wednesday finally reached a staff-level agreement that revived the $6 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) programme for the country, Bloomberg reported.

The move comes after the coalition government adhered to all "tough" conditions set by the global lender, including an increase in the price of petroleum products and energy tariffs, among others.

Sources told Geo.tv that the official announcement in this regard is expected soon.

The staff-level agreement will pave way for a $1.2 billion disbursement, which is expected in August.

Bloomberg reported that the disbursal would offer relief to Islamabad as the country's foreign-exchange reserves are depleting so much so that they can only cover less than two months of imports.

In June, Pakistan and the Fund staff achieved substantial progress to strike a consensus on budget 2022-23 after which the IMF shared a draft Memorandum of Economic and Financial Policies (MEFP).