IMF country head assures of continuing cooperation with Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Outgoing and newly appointed country directors of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Pakistan Monday met Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin and assured that the Fund will continue to cooperate with Pakistan.

During the meeting, Shaukat Tarin said that the incumbent government was committed to achieving a stable growth rate and adopt measures for the betterment of the underprivileged segments of the society in the country. He said the government was providing direct relief to consumers after a hike in prices of basic food items and has adopted a strategy to increase taxation via improving the tax net, national media reported.

“We have achieved more than our tax collection targets so far,” the finance minister said while assuring the IMF representatives regarding implementation on the Funds’ programme. The newly-appointed Pakistan’s representative for IMF lauded the measures taken by the incumbent government to mitigate COVID-19 impact on the economy and said that the Fund would continue to cooperate with the country to deal with financial issues.

On August 24, Pakistan received $2.75 billion from the IMF. As per the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the country has received $2.75 billion from the IMF as part of the SDR allocation. With the transfer of $2.75 billion, the country’s foreign exchange reserves have jumped to $27.4 billion.