The much-anticipated talks between the Ministry of Finance (MoF) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) kicked off in Islamabad on Monday, with Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb chairing the session of discussions with the visiting review mission.
The Ministry of Finance confirmed the development in its post on the social media platform.
The meeting with the IMF delegation is being held to review the progress of technical talks and outline the government’s fiscal roadmap. Attendees include Finance Secretary Imdadullah Bosal, State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Governor Jameel Ahmed and Chairman Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) Rashid Mahmood Langrial, among others.
Last year in September, the Washington-based global lender approved a $7 billion bailout package for Pakistan under its EFF program, while in May, it approved a $1.4 billion loan for Pakistan as a climate resilience fund.
Earlier, talking to Business Recorder, Mahir Binici, the IMF Resident Representative in Pakistan stated, “An International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission led by Ms. Iva Petrova, Pakistan’s Mission Chief at the IMF, has arrived in Islamabad to hold discussions on the second review under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and the first review of the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF).”
Last week, the FBR updated the IMF technical team about revenue data during an introductory meeting of the technical-level talks between Pakistan and the Fund.
The discussions, led by the FBR chairman, focused on revenue collection progress and strategies to address possible shortfalls. During the meeting, the FBR team updated the IMF mission on tax revenue performance in the current fiscal year.
According to sources, a detailed briefing was given on the progress made toward revenue targets and the possible tax shortfall in the first quarter.
The delegation also highlighted that recent severe floods had negatively impacted tax collection efforts.
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