IMF Mission holds discussions with Pakistan on economic developments

ISLAMABAD: The visiting International Monetary Fund (IMF) Post Programme Monitoring Mission held various rounds of technical discussions over the last week with the Pakistan’s financial team led by Secretary Finance, Shahid Mahmood.

The IMF team was led by Harald Finger in discussions covering a host of areas including macroeconomic situation, developments in energy, fiscal, financial, monetary and social sectors, said a press statement issued by the Ministry of Finance here Saturday.

In the opening session, Secretary Finance shared with the IMF delegation an overview of the economy, stating that it was on track and key economic indicators were moving in the positive direction.

He mentioned that significant growth had been achieved in revenue generation in the current fiscal year.

He said that Pakistan had achieved fiscal consolidation without compromising on expenditures on development and social protection.

He added the government had set its eyes on achieving 6% GDP growth which is inclusive, pro-poor and sustainable.

Secretary Finance also briefly touched upon recent successful launch of Sukuk and Euro Bond with the IMF delegation.

The IMF delegation appreciated Pakistan’s efforts in maintaining macro-economic stability and noted impressive economic growth in Pakistan despite multiple challenges.

On Friday the Mission met Tariq Bajwa, Governor State Bank of Pakistan, the statement added.

Over the week, the mission also held meetings with the Ministries of Commerce, Railways, Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, OGRA and SECP.

It also met senior officials in other ministries including Energy, Planning Development and Reforms, State Bank of Pakistan, Federal Board of Revenue, BISP and NEPRA and held technical discussions on key areas.

The Post Program Monitoring is an annual feature of the Fund whereby overall, economic conditions of a member country, which is no more in a program relationship and owes funds to the IMF, are monitored and a report is presented to the Executive Board of the Fund.

It may be recalled that the last IMF mission level visit to Pakistan took place in late 2013.

The current visit was taking place after a gap of over 3 years, reflecting improved security conditions as well as the economic performance of the country and growing trust of the international community.