Pakistan was “well positioned” for the first review of its $7 billion International Monetary Fund bailout programme as talks with the global lender began on Tuesday, the country’s finance minister told Reuters.
Islamabad secured the $7 billion Extended Fund Facility last summer to help claw its way out of an economic crisis.
The programme has played a key role in stabilising Pakistan’s economy and the government has said the country is on course for a long-term recovery.
“They are here. We will have two rounds of talks, first technical and then policy level,” Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said.
“I think we are well positioned” for the review, he said.
Earlier, Pakistani authorities, led by Aurangzeb, formally kicked off talks with the IMF delegation for the first review of a $7 billion bailout program, the Ministry of Finance said in a statement
“Pictures of kick-off meeting held today”, wrote the Finance Division, while sharing two photos with media on WhatsApp but did not provide further details.
The images showed Pakistani officials, led by Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, involved in discussions with an IMF delegation led by its Pakistan mission chief Nathan Porter.
The IMF mission began talks with Pakistani authorities on Monday on the first review of the $7 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) programme.
Official sources in the finance ministry told media that the nine-member IMF mission led by Nathan Porter met the government economic team led by Secretary Finance.
In the first phase, negotiations will focus on technical aspects, followed by policy-level talks in the second phase. Sources revealed that the budget for 2025-26, currently in the process of being formulated, will be reviewed.
The mission will stay in the country for around two weeks.
Talks will evaluate Pakistan’s economic performance from July to December 2024. A successful review would unlock the next $1 billion tranche.
As per the report, the IMF team will meet with multiple government institutions, including the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Energy, Planning Commission, State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA), and National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA).
Additionally, separate talks will be held with representatives from Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Balochistan.
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