IMF mission due this week to discuss next program

Pakistan is looking for a multi-year IMF program to help it push through a wide-ranging economic reform package to put its economy on an even keel.

By Nusrat Shaheen

ISLAMABAD: An International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission is due in Pakistan the week starting May 13 “to discuss the next phase of engagement”, a top official of the Fund’s country office said here Sunday.

“A mission team led by Nathan Porter, IMF’s Mission Chief to Pakistan, will meet with authorities next week”, said a brief note issued by Esther Perez Ruiz, the Fund’s resident representative to Pakistan.

After successfully completing a yearlong USD 3 billion Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) in April, Pakistan is looking to sign up for a longer-term Fund program to negotiate a multi-year liquidity crunch brought on by a high level of indebtedness among other economic problems.

The mission’s arrival as Pakistani officials are knee-deep in their annual budget making exercise ahead of the onset of a new fiscal year as of July 1, 2024, means the Fund is a clear indication of the global lender’s seriousness in engaging with Pakistan.

Ruiz concluded her statement by saying, “The aim is to lay the foundation for better governance and stronger, more inclusive, and resilient economic growth that will benefit all Pakistanis.”

The IMF and Pakistan have been in talks for the prospective program since the days of the PDM government that rose to power after ousting former Prime Minister Imran Khan. In fact, the year-long SBA straddling the term of the caretaker government that oversaw general election 2024 was intended as a stop-gap arrangement to last Pakistan until a new elected government can arrive to undertake a more substantive economic reform program.

After his re-election following the February general election, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif held preliminary discussions towards the prospective program with IMF Managing Director (MD) Kristalina Georgieva when the two dignitaries met on the sidelines of a World Economic Forum (WEF) Special Meeting in Riyadh late last month.

Although the precise duration and quantum of the prospective program has still not been made public, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, has been reported as saying he hopes to arrive at a staff-level agreement over the prospective program latest by the end of June or early July.