Dar seeks IMF, donors’ greater policy support for Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Ishaq Dar on Sunday urged the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and multilateral donors to provide greater policy support to Pakistan.

He asked the IMF to tailor its response to the situation in Pakistan and similar countries by taking into consideration the serious economic social and political challenges they face amid climate induced calamities, says a press release issued by the finance ministry.

Dar made the remarks while addressing a meeting of Menap (Middle East North Africa Afghanistan and Pakistan) ministers of finance and central bank governors with IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva.

During the meeting, Goergieva spoke about the challenges regional economies were facing, including those related to climate change such as destructive floods in Pakistan. She expressed sympathy with Pakistan and assured the country of Fund’s full support, the statement added.

Dar thanked the IMF official for her support and assured Pakistan’s commitment to completing the ongoing programme. The finance minister highlighted the humanitarian catastrophe and losses suffered by the country. Given the scale of the disaster, he pleaded for more policy support for Pakistan.

Dar also welcomed new IMF instruments Resilience and Sustainability Trust (RST) and Food Shock Window under Rapid Financing Instrument (RFI) to support countries. The finance minister, who is on a week-long visit to the US to attend annual meetings of the World Bank and IMF, had another busy day on Sunday as he held multiple meetings with officials of other countries and international financial institutions.

Separately, Dar, along with State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Governor Jameel Ahmed, met Queen Maxima of the Netherlands to discuss financial inclusion and equality in banking. The two sides reiterated their commitment to work together to achieve fast progress, the finance ministry said in a press release.

In his meeting with Director General of Kuwait Fund Marwan Abdullah Yusuf Thunayan Al Ghanem, the finance minister appreciated the fund’s contribution to Pakistan’s economic development. He also discussed the ongoing projects and potential new areas of investment.

During his meeting with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) President Masatsugu Asakawa, Dar thanked the multilateral lender for its support over the years and its commitments following the devastating floods. The ADB president assured the finance minister of approval of the BRACE programme amounting to 1.5 billion and continued support to Pakistan.

Dar also met International Finance Corporation (IFC) Managing Director Makhtar Diop with whom he discussed potential means of enhancing IFC’s engagement in Pakistan and assured all facilitation in this regard.