BAFL 53.19 Increased By ▲ 3.16 (6.32%)
BIPL 22.90 Increased By ▲ 0.49 (2.19%)
BOP 5.67 Increased By ▲ 0.25 (4.61%)
CNERGY 5.12 Increased By ▲ 0.07 (1.39%)
DFML 19.35 Increased By ▲ 0.17 (0.89%)
DGKC 80.54 Increased By ▲ 0.39 (0.49%)
FABL 33.11 Increased By ▲ 0.26 (0.79%)
FCCL 20.25 No Change ▼ 0.00 (0%)
FFL 10.48 Increased By ▲ 0.83 (8.6%)
GGL 13.61 Increased By ▲ 0.01 (0.07%)
HBL 129.52 Increased By ▲ 8.18 (6.74%)
HUBC 123.38 Increased By ▲ 0.88 (0.72%)
HUMNL 8.04 Increased By ▲ 0.04 (0.5%)
KEL 4.43 Increased By ▲ 0.46 (11.59%)
LOTCHEM 28.01 Decreased By ▼ -0.07 (-0.25%)
MLCF 42.71 Increased By ▲ 0.51 (1.21%)
OGDC 125.38 Increased By ▲ 4.05 (3.34%)
PAEL 21.33 Increased By ▲ 1.10 (5.44%)
PIBTL 6.11 Increased By ▲ 0.31 (5.34%)
PIOC 118.47 Increased By ▲ 2.57 (2.22%)
PPL 113.85 Increased By ▲ 3.10 (2.8%)
PRL 31.80 Increased By ▲ 2.22 (7.51%)
SILK 1.10 Increased By ▲ 0.02 (1.85%)
SNGP 69.44 Increased By ▲ 0.41 (0.59%)
SSGC 13.76 Increased By ▲ 0.06 (0.44%)
TELE 9.16 Increased By ▲ 0.41 (4.69%)
TPLP 14.79 Increased By ▲ 0.12 (0.82%)
TRG 92.45 Increased By ▲ 1.15 (1.26%)
UNITY 27.47 Increased By ▲ 0.22 (0.81%)
WTL 1.67 Increased By ▲ 0.04 (2.45%)
BR100 6,815 Increased By 167.1 (2.51%)
BR30 24,245 Increased By 677 (2.87%)
KSE100 66,224 Increased By 1505.6 (2.33%)
KSE30 22,123 Increased By 529.1 (2.45%)
Pakistan

Stage set to bring Pakistan out of economic difficulty, says PM Shehbaz after IMF nod

  • Congratulates finance and foreign office teams 'for efforts in getting the IMF program revived'
Published July 14, 2022

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday lauded efforts of the coalition-led government after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Pakistani authorities reached a staff level agreement, paving way for disbursement of the next tranche.

The prime minister said the agreement has set the stage to bring Pakistan out of the economic difficulties it is facing amid high inflation, falling foreign exchange reserves and risks of slower economic growth.

His statement came after the IMF and Pakistan authorities reached the much-delayed staff-level agreement. "Subject to Board approval, about $1,177 million (SDR 894 million) will become available, bringing total disbursements under the programme to about $4.2 billion,” said the IMF in its statement released early on Thursday.

IMF announces staff-level agreement with Pakistan

The development also came as a relief for Pakistan's policymakers as the incumbent government was actively pursuing the US-based lender to revive its stalled bailout programme.

Taking to Twitter, PM Shehbaz congratulated the ministries of finance and foreign affairs for their efforts in getting the IMF program revived.

“It was great teamwork,” said the prime minister. “The agreement with the Fund has set the stage to bring the country out of economic difficulties,” he added.

Finance Minister Miftah Ismail also hailed the development.

"We will soon receive $1.17b as the combined 7th & 8th tranche. I want to thank the PM, my fellow ministers, secretaries and especially the finance division for their help and efforts in obtaining this agreement," he said on Twitter.

Meanwhile, the IMF said that in order to support programme implementation and meet the higher financing needs in fiscal year 2022-23, as well as catalyse additional financing, its Board will consider an extension of the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) until end-June 2023 and an augmentation of access by SDR 720 million that will bring the total access under the EFF to about $7 billion.

Pakistan had sought an increase in the size and duration of its $6-billion programme in April.

Intra-day update: Pakistan's rupee registers gain against US dollar after IMF news

The revival of the IMF programme is widely considered as crucial for Pakistan's economy which has seen its foreign exchange reserves fall relentlessly with import cover currently standing at less than two months. During the week ended on 30-Jun-2022, SBP’s reserves decreased by $493 million to $9.82 billion due to external debt and other payments.

At the same time, a widening trade deficit, led by a high import bill, has dented the local currency.

Pakistan entered the current IMF programme in 2019, but only half the funds have been disbursed to date.

Comments

Comments are closed.

Stage set to bring Pakistan out of economic difficulty, says PM Shehbaz after IMF nod

Israel strikes Gaza after failed UN ceasefire bid

$100 billion export vision: Pakistan eyes to reduce trade deficit with China

Nawaz stresses on improving relations with India, other neigbours

Gold price per tola falls Rs3,000 in Pakistan

Sarah Inam murder case: Verdict to be announced on December 14

Iran says reviving nuclear deal 'useless'

COP28 president says summit 'making progress, but not fast enough'

OPEC members push against including fossil fuels phase-out in COP28 deal

Turkiye's Erdogan denounces UN 'Israel protection council'

Sydney bakes in hottest day in three years