SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 24: IMF team to hold Article IV consultations: arrival on October 10

WASHINGTON: An Inter-national Monetary Fund delegation will arrive in Pakistan on October 10 to hold Article IV consultations with government officials on economic development and policies. The mission will also interact with country's private sector and members of civil society because the Fund has expressed a level of participation by the private sector in particular.
The Fund took this decision following finance minister Dr Hafeez Shaikh's meetings with some top IMF officials, including first deputy managing director David Lipton, Director Middle East Masood Ahmed and IMF Mission Chief for Pakistan Adnan Mazerie. The minister also met the World Bank officials and discussed with them co-operation in health, infrastructure and economic development.
The finance minister and his team members are here during the annual IMF-World Bank meetings and they are holding discussions on how to move forward in terms of helping support the country's economy. The finance minister made it clear that Pakistan had not decided to abandon the Fund because the country's dialogue with the IMF was an ongoing process in which Pakistani authorities were constantly reviewing the macroeconomic situation in the country and positive developments that had taken place on the external sector.
He also effectively dispelled the impression that the government was critically reviewing or revisiting its relationship with the Fund because of the upcoming general elections in the country. He also made it clear to the Fund that the government would make its best efforts to achieve fiscal deficit target for FY 2011-12 and had no plan whatsoever to initiate any currency "note-printing" exercise, thereby stoking inflation and contributing to fiscal imbalances.
The minister also told the IMF officials that the government was vigorously pursuing economic reforms measures in order to be self-sufficient and have an equitable tax system and improve service delivery to people. He also spoke about the measures for fiscal austerity including expenditure control, revenue mobilisation, elimination of exemptions for certain sectors and bringing new sectors into the tax net.
Dr Sheikh also apprised the Fund officials about the steps that Pakistan had taken towards macroeconomic stability despite the challenges of a chronic energy crisis, a severe lack of foreign investment and a precarious law and order mainly because of country's leading role in the global war on terror. He spoke at length about the government's focus on development as well as its efforts towards greater economic stabilisation.
During its 10-day stay in Pakistan, the IMF staff team will collect economic and financial information and hold discussions. On return to headquarters, the staff would prepare a report, which forms the basis for discussion by the Executive Board. At the conclusion of the discussion, the Managing Director, as Chairman of the Board, would summarise the views of Executive Directors, and this summary will be transmitted to Pakistan. Following the receipt of the IMF summary, only then will Pakistan decide whether or not it should negotiate a new program with the IMF, it was learnt.