By Staff Reporter
KARACHI: Pakistan has moved a step closer to securing a $7 billion bailout package from the International Monetary Fund, with the lender’s executive board set to meet on September 25 to discuss the loan.
“We are very happy to say now that the board meeting is scheduled to take place on September 25,” said IMF spokesperson Julie Kozack at a press briefing in Washington.
“This follows Pakistan obtaining the necessary financing assurances from its development partners. The new EFF arrangement… follows the successful implementation of the 2023 nine-month standby arrangement.”
The meeting follows a staff-level agreement reached in July on the 37-month Extended Fund Facility arrangement, which aims to support Pakistan’s economic reforms and stabilize its currency.
Consistent policymaking has supported economic stability in Pakistan, said Kozack, citing a resumption of growth, significant disinflation, and an increase in international reserves.
Asked if Pakistan has received those assurances, she responded, “Yes.”
The State Bank of Pakistan Governor Jameel Ahmad said at an analyst briefing in Karachi that the country has also secured over $2 billion in financing from lenders other than the IMF.
The $2 billion external financing gap was seen as the final hurdle for the loan approval.
“All those assurances and external financing have already been arranged by the government, and I don’t see any further hurdle now in taking our case to the board,” said Ahmad.
“The government has arranged external financing. … We are hopeful that the IMF will take up Pakistan’s case in September.”
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said negotiations with the IMF were “progressing positively” and thanked friendly countries for their support. “Our friendly countries have helped us meet the requirements necessary to secure an IMF bailout,” he said, according to Radio Pakistan.
The loan is crucial for Pakistan to stabilize its economy and unlock funding from other bilateral donors. The country completed its previous $3 billion loan program in April and secured a credit rating upgrade from both Moody’s Ratings and Fitch Ratings last month.
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