Federal Minister for Finance Muhammad Aurangzeb has said Pakistan is on track to secure a new deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), saying that the Washington-based lender had been “very receptive” to considering “a larger, longer programme”.
“We had very constructive discussions with the Managing Director of the Fund, and given that we are successfully completing this programme, the fund has been very receptive in terms of agreeing to consider a larger, longer programme,” Aurangzeb told The National, a UAE-based daily, in an interview.
Aurangzeb expects to avoid wild rupee devaluation as govt engages IMF: report
The government is seeking a longer and bigger loan to help bring permanence to macroeconomic stability.
Pakistan’s current $3 billion Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) inked with the IMF last year runs out in late April.
Pakistan hopes the executive board’s approval will pave the way for the country to receive funds of around $1.1 billion as its final tranche.
During the interview, Aurangzeb reiterated that Pakistan’s economy has stabilised. The rupee has stabilised while the inflation rate has declined from a peak of about 38% to about 21%.
IMF chief says Pakistan seeking potential follow-up loan program
Aurangzeb projected inflation rate to drop below 10% by the end of 2025.
On a World Bank report expecting a drop in remittances this year, and its effect on the country’s economy, the finance minister said remittance inflows are expected to “go up” this fiscal.
“I think we closed the year at $28 billion last fiscal year, and we expect to close at $29 billion this year. So the remittances have not only been holding up – they will actually go up during this fiscal year,” he said.
On the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), Aurangzeb admitted that Pakistan had “missed a trick” by taking too long to monetise projects.
“We have been slow over the last few years. We are going to move forward with Phase Two so that we can get going with the revenue-generating part of the CPEC,” he said.
Last week, Aurangzeb, in an interview with Reuters, had said that Pakistan hopes to agree on the contours of a new IMF loan in May.
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