Team negotiating new programme in Pakistan: IMF

On the 29th of last month, the IMF Executive Board completed the second review of the Stand-by Agreement

By Wajid Ali Syed
May 18, 2024
This handout photograph released by the Pakistan Press Information Department (PID) on Jan. 31, 2023, shows Pakistani and International Monetary Fund officials meeting at the Finance Ministry in Islamabad.—AFP
This handout photograph released by the Pakistan Press Information Department (PID) on Jan. 31, 2023, shows Pakistani and International Monetary Fund officials meeting at the Finance Ministry in Islamabad.—AFP

WASHINGTON: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has confirmed that its team is negotiating a new loan programme for Pakistan and the findings will be shared when the talks are over.

“Right now, a mission team led by Nathan Porter, our Mission Chief, is meeting with the authorities this week to discuss the next phase of our engagement with Pakistan,” the Fund’s communication director, Julie Kozack, said here during the press briefing.

Without going into further details, Ms Kozack noted that since there was a mission on the ground, the fund will wait for them to complete their work and the findings will be communicated in due course.

On the 29th of last month, the IMF Executive Board completed the second review of the Stand-by Agreement for Pakistan which allowed the disbursement of about 1.1 billion dollars. “The completion of our Board of the second and final review of the SbA reflected the authority’s strong policy efforts during the time of the standby, which did help stabilization of the economy,” the IMF official said.