Staff-level agreement reached between Pakistan and IMF on first bailout review
Pakistan will receive $700 million following approval from the Fund’s Executive Board, as per an agreement reached at the staff level about the first assessment of a $3 billion bailout, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced on Wednesday.
A delegation headed by Nathan Porter was in Islamabad to have talks on the first review of the Stand-By Arrangement (SBA), according to a statement released by the Fund.
“The IMF team has reached a staff-level agreement with the Pakistani authorities on the first review of their stabilisation programme supported by the IMF’s $3 billion SBA,” Porter said.
“The Executive Board of the IMF must approve the accord. After approval, about $700 million will be accessible, making the program’s total payouts close to $1.9 billion.
Anwaarul Haq Kakar, the acting prime minister, was visited separately by IMF Mission Chief for Pakistan Nathan Porter and IMF Resident Representative for Pakistan Esther Perez Tuiz. They informed him on the progress of the technical level negotiations under the first review of the SBA.
Porter commended the efforts made by the Pakistani government in fulfilling the various quarterly milestones, according to a statement released by the Prime Minister’s Office.
Porter reported that the “positive conclusion of the technical-level talks” was the outcome of the efforts. He claimed that both sides had in-depth discussions about a number of SBA topics.
The IMF Mission Chief for Pakistan Mr Nathan Porter and IMF Resident Representative for Pakistan Ms Esther Perez Tuiz called on the Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar today and apprised him of status of the negotiations held at the technical levels with the team of… pic.twitter.com/8isor3toBx
— Prime Minister’s Office (@PakPMO) November 15, 2023
Porter also recognized the part SBP Governor Jameel Ahmed, her team, and acting Finance Minister Shamshad Akhtar played in the discussions.
Thanking the IMF team for their continued cooperation with Pakistan, PM Kakar further commended the finance minister’s leadership and her staff’s commitment to the program’s advancement. He valued the SBP governor’s responsibility as well.
As these are intended to stabilize Pakistan’s economy over time, the prime minister underlined the government’s unwavering commitment to the reform initiatives agreed upon with the IMF, according to the statement.
Senior government officials, Akhtar, Ahmed, and Malik Amjad Zubair Tiwana, Chairman of the Federal Board of Revenue, were also present at the meeting, it was said.
Senator Raza Rabbani, meantime, vehemently denounced the international lender’s recent correspondence on fund pledges with Pakistan’s principal allies.
The visiting staff mission of the IMF has begun direct communications with important bilateral partners to confirm their committed support to Pakistan, including rollovers and additional flows, during the current fiscal year. This is because policy-level discussions have boiled down to primarily discussing the external financing gap.
The IMF has expressed worries about risks to the funding pipeline for approximately $28 billion in external needs during the current fiscal year, despite authorities’ claims that there doesn’t seem to be any significant obstacles to finishing the first quarterly assessment.
In a statement released today, Rabbani expressed his “deep shame and regret that the local IMF staff is cross-checking and seeking assurances from ambassadors of countries that have pledged to help Pakistan” due to the caretaker government’s declining reputation.
He said, “The IMF Pakistan staff had no right to call on the UAE Ambassador,” and that Pakistan was being treated like a “client state that is not to be trusted” by the international lender.
In the statement, Rabbani stated, “It is not the business of the IMF staff in Pakistan to meet with ambassadors accredited to Islamabad and verify commitments between two sovereign states.”
Additionally, he insisted that the Senate be presented with the specifics of the temporary government’s discussion with the fund
I am a dedicated student currently in my seventh semester, pursuing a degree in International Relations. Alongside my academic pursuits, I am actively engaged in the professional field as a content writer at the Rangeinn website.
