\u2018Georgieva acknowledged finance ministry\u2019s efforts to revive deal over phone conversation\u2019
\nISLAMABAD
\nPrime Minister Shehbaz Sharif held a phone meeting with International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva on Tuesday during which he expressed hope for a decision by the lender within a day or two regarding the release of the next tranche.
\nPakistan\u2019s deal with the IMF under the 2019 Extended Fund Facility (EFF) is due to expire on June 30, but the country\u2019s ninth review for the release of a $1.2 billion tranche is pending.
\nOver the phone, Georgieva assured the premier that the IMF also wishes for Pakistan\u2019s economic situation to improve. She acknowledged the steps taken by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar and his team towards completing the IMF programme in view of meetings held with the premier in Paris, according to a press release issued by the Prime Minister\u2019s Office (PMO). Shehbaz, in turn, assured the IMF MD that his government was determined to achieve its goal of improving the country\u2019s economic situation through joint efforts and hoped for an answer from the fund in the coming days.
\nThe IMF tranche was expected to be released in October last year but it has hung in balance for the past eight months as the Fund claims the country has yet to meet crucial prerequisites.
\nAs the deadline for the programme inches closer, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz government has intensified last-ditch efforts to ensure the release of the bailout package. Back-to-back meetings were held during the premier\u2019s visit to Paris last week on the sidelines of the New Global Financial Pact summit.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u2018Georgieva acknowledged finance ministry\u2019s efforts to revive deal over phone conversation\u2019 ISLAMABAD Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif held a phone meeting with International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva on Tuesday during which he expressed hope for a decision by the lender within a day or two regarding the release of the next tranche. Pakistan\u2019s deal […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":340193,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-340219","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-top-news"},"yoast_head":"\n