PM Shehbaz and US ambassador spoke about Washington backing for IMF-facilitated economic reforms
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and US Ambassador to Pakistan Donald Blome met as the new administration began attempts to get a fresh loan to address its financial difficulties. During the discussion, they talked about other important matters as well as the economic reforms through the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Acting US Mission Spokesperson Thomas Montgomery said in a statement that Envoy Blome spoke with PM Shehbaz on Friday to discuss a wide variety of bilateral matters, including working with the recently formed government on regional security.
The meeting coincided with Islamabad’s entry into the final review round of negotiations for the $3 billion stand-by agreement (SBA) with the global lender. If the discussions are successful, the IMF will provide Pakistan a last tranche of about $1.1 billion.
After that, Montgomery continued, they also spoke about “US support for continued economic reforms with and through the IMF, trade and investment, education, climate change, and private sector-led economic growth.”
Washington’s support for Pakistan’s democracy and the vital role of an independent press were also conveyed by the US envoy.
The two sides also talked about how they may cooperate to expedite climate change initiatives under the auspices of the US-Pakistan Green Alliance.
Prior to the start of the last review conference, Pakistan “expressed its intention” for a new loan from the IMF, according to sources cited by Geo News. The government was able to avoid a sovereign debt default because to the program that Islamabad was able to secure under a last-minute rescue package last summer.
Following his appointment, the government will work with the Washington-based lender on a “large and long programme” under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF), said newly appointed Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, who also detailed his strategy for stabilizing the economy.
He explained in detail prior to the IMF discussions that all possibilities would be investigated during the next negotiations with the Fund’s review mission. These options include increasing the size of assigned quota under the EFF program and augmenting the IMF program through climate finance.
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