Pakistan seeks Shehbaz-IMF chief meeting in Paris

ISLAMABAD: As hopes diminish for the revival of the IMF programme, which will expire on June 30, 2023, Pakistan has made a request for holding a meeting of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif with the IMF MD on the sidelines of the upcoming New Global Financing Pact Summit being held in Paris from June 22-23.

“If this request is turned down, then there will be no possibility of reviving the Fund programme under the $6.7 billion Extended Fund Facility. However, if the meeting is held and both sides achieve a breakthrough, then chances of reviving the programme will brighten,” a top official said while talking to The News here on Tuesday.

The pending 9th Review under the EFF programme has remained a far cry since November 2022. The IMF sent out its review mission on January 31 to February 9, 2023 but the Staff Level Agreement (SLA) could not be signed. The IMF placed prior action before signing of SLA, which could not be achieved till date.

Minister for Finance Ishaq Dar held virtual meetings with the IMF high-ups in April for striking a consensus but failed to break the ice between the two sides. Then the prime minister made a telephonic call to IMF MD and discussed issues for revival of the stalled programme for one year. However, nothing substantial was achieved.

The IMF Resident Chief, Esther Perez Ruiz, had issued a statement criticising the Budget 2023-24. The Ministry of Finance had also issued a statement in its response but both sides showed commitment to remain engaged for the conclusion of pending 9th Review.

On Tuesday, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar held a virtual meeting with Britain’s Minister of State in the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) Andrew Mitchell. According to an official statement issued by Pakistan’s Ministry of Finance, Andrew Mitchell expressed deep sorrow and grief on the loss of lives of a huge number of Pakistani citizens in the recent boat capsizing incident in Greece.

Dar expressed gratitude for receiving the condolences and voiced that illegal human trafficking has become a huge issue worldwide and needs to be curtailed at the earliest.

Andrew Mitchell acknowledged that the Government of Pakistan has been vigilant in bringing economic stability through various policy reforms. He also assured of continuous support and assistance of the British government to Pakistan.