Islamabad, 16 November 2023 (TDI): The International Monetary Fund has reached a staff-level agreement with Pakistan on the first review under Pakistan’s Stand-by arrangement (SBA).
This staff-level agreement is subject to approval by the IMF’s Executive Board. Upon approval, Pakistan will have access to about 700 million USD bringing the total disbursement to about 1.9 billion dollars under the program.
In July this year, the IMF Executive Board approved a 9-month Stand-by Arrangement of about 3 billion USD for Pakistan to support its economic stabilization program.
The IMF Stand-by Arrangement allowed for an immediate disbursement of about 1.2 billion dollars. The remaining amount was to be phased over the program’s duration, subject to two quarterly reviews.
International Monetary Fund (IMF) delegation, led by Nathan Porter, visited Islamabad from November 2nd to 15th 2023. The visit aimed to hold discussions on the first review of Pakistan’s economic program supported by an IMF Stand-by Arrangement.
IMF mission chief, Nathan Porter issued a statement saying, “The IMF team has reached a staff-level agreement with the Pakistani authorities on the first review of their stabilization program supported by the IMF’s US$ 3 billion SBA.”
“The agreement is subject to the approval of the IMF’s Executive Board. Upon approval around US$ 700 million will become available bringing total disbursements under the program to almost US$ 1.9 billion.”
Nathan Porter, IMF delegation head for Pakistan along with IMF Resident Representative for Pakistan, Esther Perez Tuiz on Wednesday, called on Prime Minister Anwar-Ul-Haq Kakar and appraised him of the status of negotiations under the First Review of the SBA.
During the meeting, Nathan Porter acknowledged efforts made by the Government of Pakistan in meeting the various program quarterly targets.
He also added that these efforts have resulted in a positive conclusion of the technical level talks and appreciated the role of the finance minister and Governor State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) along with their respective teams in technical level talks.
Also Read: IMF approves US$3 billion Stand-By Agreement for Pakistan
In response, the Interim Prime Minister thanked the IMF team for its ongoing engagement with Pakistan and praised the efforts made by the finance minister and her team along with Governor SBP, in taking the program forward.
The Prime Minister reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to reform efforts agreed with the IMF as these aimed to stabilize Pakistan’s economy in the long run.
Concluding the visit, the IMF team thanked Pakistani authorities, the private sector, and development partners for fruitful discussions and cooperation throughout this mission.
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