Islamabad July 1 2023: Calling the agreement a major step, the prime minister of Pakistan Shahbaz Sharif hoped that the country would start receiving money after the IMF Board meeting scheduled for July 12th.
Earlier, the IMF team has reached a staff-level agreement with the Pakistani authorities on a nine-month Stand-by Arrangement (SBA) in the amount of SDR2,250 million (about $3 billion or 111 percent of Pakistan’s IMF quota). The new SBA builds on the authorities’ efforts under Pakistan’s 2019 EFF-supported program which expires end-June. According to IMF officials this agreement is subject to approval by the IMF’s Executive Board, which is expected to consider this request by mid-July.
Pakistan Prime Minister thanked IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva and her team for showing seriousness, particularly after his meeting in Paris, besides appreciating Finance Minister Ishaq Dar and his team for their untiring efforts to achieve the objective.
About his talks with the IMF chief last week, PM Shehbaz said he apprised her of the government’s success to fulfill all of the Fund’s conditions even at the cost of political capital just to save Pakistan from defaulting.
The IMF MD raised concerns about the external financing gap of $2bn, following which the prime minister asked the finance minister to make a “final effort” to address the IMF’s doubts.
Islamic Development Bank has also committed $1bn in funds for Pakistan, says sharif.
